Calvados holds out against contracting spirits background

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 03 March, 2026

French apple spirit Calvados recorded a sales volume contraction of 5.6% in 2025, representing a moderate drop compared to the more significant deceleration happening in global spirits.

The category recorded 4.35m bottles placed on the market last year. Exports remained a major source of demand for the category with 2.1m bottles shipped abroad.

The EU – which dominates the export market – accounted for 70% of this sales volume, with positive markets in both Northern and Easten Europe.

Read more: Five wines gain top Cava designation

Shipments to Japan also saw a rebound last year, while the US remained stable despite the introduction of tariffs.

However, France – its domestic market – remains the primary market for Calvados, standing at 2.25m bottles, despite a 7.8% decline in sales.

Summer highlighted the importance of tourism for the sector, with estate visits in Normandy supporting direct-to-consumer sales – a growth channel which is less exposed to international market fluctuations.

Commenting on the category’s performance, Guillaume Drouin, president of the Calvados section at Interprofession des Appellations Cidricoles (IDAC), said: “Our fundamentals rest on a dual equilibrium: a structured export base, predominantly European, and a domestic market capable of evolving its commercial channels.

“The development of 'spiritourism' is not merely a cyclical buffer — it opens lasting prospects in terms of value creation, consumer engagement, and sales channel security. In a volatile environment, this diversification must strengthen the economic robustness of the sector.

“We call on the French public to reclaim their historic spirits, expressions of an exceptional living heritage at the heart of emblematic estates.”

There are 300 distilleries and micro distilleries within Calvados’ three AOCs (Calvados, Calvados Pays d’Auge and Calvados Domfrontais). All these companies are grouped within IDAC, which has a mission to promote the AOCs around the world.

Year-on-year both the Calvados Pays d’Auge and the Calvados Domfrontais saw volume increases of 4.53% and 15.44% respectively, while the Calvados AOC saw a decline of 9.61%.

Image Credit: elementus on Pixabay

Printer friendly version