Continuing db’s exploration of the growth potential of African markets,Sarah Neish delves into how wine sales are changing in Kenya, Nigeria and <a href="https://absafricatv.com/nissan-launches-20940-indian-built-suv-in-south-africa-after-selling-its-factory-to-chinas-chery/" title="Nissan launches $20,940 Indian-built SUV in South Africa after selling its factory to China’s Chery”>South Africa.
As db recently reported, Sub-Saharan Africa represents one of the most compelling long-term growth opportunities in drinks with a young, fast-growing and rapidly urbanising population happy to spend out on “aspirational” beverages. Booming categories include RTDs and spirits, with Cognac, Tequila and whiskey (both Indian and Irish) all on the rise.
But while at first glance wine may seem like a less fruitful opportunity compared with spirits (in terms of volumes sold), it’s definitely worth noting that across Africa locally-made products dominate, accounting for 97% of beer volumes in 2025, 71% of cider, 80% of spirits and 87% of RTDs (data from IWSR).
For wine, local products made up just 59% of volume sales last year, suggesting there may be more space for international wine producers to eke out a place for themselves in African markets than for international spirits producers to do the same. In other words, wine operators may not sell huge quantities there, but they may have the chance to ‘own’ their category in a way that spirits producers find more of a challenge.
Mixed bag
In the last six years, wine has been a mixed bag for African markets.
According to IWSR, the global leader in beverage alcohol data and insight, between 2019 and 2025 Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) volume for all wine declined in South Africa, remained steady in Nigeria but grew in Kenya.
In fact, the latter could be a long-term driver of sales. “Kenya has relatively low per-capita wine consumption, but interest is growing,” Russel Menezes, IWSR research director (Middle East & Africa), tells the drinks business. “Women especially see wine as an aspirational but affordable progression from mixed drinks, cider and beer.”
In Nigeria, while some consumers have been trading down to cheaper products such as local RTDs and spirits, Menezes highlighted that there has been “an increase in the French standard and premium wine segments, and a recovery for US, Chilean and Argentinian brands.”
He added that wines from Moldova have also been making inroads “based on their affordability, sweetness and relatively high ABVs.”
Wine sales: white vs red
Something well worth noting is that while much of the world is seeing white wine sales soar, to the detriment of red wine sales, it appears to be a different picture in Africa.
In Kenya, white wine represents 43% of total wine sold compared with 50% for red and just 7% for rosé. That dominance of red wine becomes even more pronounced in Nigeria, where reds make up a whopping 72% of sales next to 11% for whites and 17% for rosé. In South Africa, reds and whites are pretty much neck-and-neck with reds comprising 40% of sales and whites 42%, with rosé making up 18%.
However, between 2019 and 2025 the CAGR for white wine sales fell -3% in Nigeria, and -2% in South Africa but grew +2% in Kenya. For red wine sales the CAGR for the same period was -4% in Nigeria, +4% in South Africa and +3% in Kenya.
For sparkling wine, Nigeria looks to be the best bet among key African markets, as Champagne remains important for aspirational, status-conscious Nigerians. “The category has been driven by promotional activity in the on-trade and increasing confidence among upper-middle consumers,” said Menezes, who explained that “Champagne continued its recovery after a sharp dip in 2023.”
South Africa: wine format counts
According to Menezes, still wine in South Africa “was once a booming category but has seen growth taper off in recent years.”
One bright spot is convenience. Menezes explained that several major liquor store chains have expanded into both urban and rural areas recently, making affordable bag-in-box wines a hit.
“Recently, the South African market has seen a shift towards smaller, more convenient one-litre and two-litre packs,” he revealed. “The rapid growth of RTDs, driven largely by the expansion of wine-based spritzers, has materially reshaped the category landscape, taking substantial share from still wine in recent years.”
He added that women especially “have been pivotal in the still wine market, with sweeter options often favoured by new drinkers.”
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