A study by the European Association of Wine Industries (CEEV) shows the Italian wine industry will be ravaged once Britain finally exits.
The UK leaving the bloc is expected to leave Brussels with a huge financial black hole of up to €14billion a year.
Brexit is expected to hit the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) hard, with a swathe of funding to European agriculture cut back as a result.
And, according to the study, cuts to the CAP will clobber the wine industry in particular, which could lose 15 percent of its contributions.
In major wine producer Italy, that would mean a cut of €372million in the years from 2021 to 2027, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
That works out at a budget cut of €52million every single year.
Producers are relying on that financing for upkeep of their vineyards, invest in their cellars, insurance and marketing their bottles.
And the loss in funding is likely to cause them massive problems going forward.
Paolo Castelletti, from the Italian Union of wines, said the predictions were hugely unsettling.
He said: “These are worrying predictions that we hope to avoid because this could penalise some key levers of Italian wine competitiveness.
“We will fight for wine to maintain its specificity and budget within the EU agricultural sector.”
Panicking representatives from the wine and spirits industry met Michel Barnier’s team yesterday to press home the need to reach a trade deal with the UK.
Four trade organisations agreed in October a position paper for how they could best move forward once the UK leaves.
And yesterday’s meeting they highlighted the importance of a sensible implementation period and a ground-breaking free trade deal with Britain.
CEEV Secretary General Ignacio Sanchez Recarte said: “The Brexit position paper makes clear that partners in the wine and spirit trade right across Europe strongly support the UK and EU securing a comprehensive trade agreement.
“All of us want a solution that enables us to continue to do business after Brexit and to ensure UK and EU consumers will be able to continue to enjoy the full range of products.”
The UK is the world’s second largest importer of wine by volume and value.
It is a significant market for wines produced in the EU, while the EU represents a significant export market for British spirits.
Wine and spirits traded between the EU and UK are not currently subject to tariffs.
But unless the UK remains in the customs union, or a free trade agreement is negotiated, that could all change after Brexit.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.)