This article explores the delicate balance between artificial intelligence and human warmth in the wine tourism sector. Drawing on Roberta Garibaldi’s latest report, it introduces the “Three Intelligences”—Artificial, Natural, and Social. While technology is vital for digital visibility and efficiency, the human touch, authentic storytelling, and environmental stewardship remain the irreplaceable heart of the experience.
In these days, while reading Roberta Garibaldi’s latest Wine Tourism Report, I focused on a concept that must become our mantra: the “Three Intelligences.”
We live in a historical moment where Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be the answer to every question, the solution to every drop in turnover, and the shortcut for every effort. I admit that even in our sector, the temptation to delegate is strong. But a passage from the report struck me like a healthy slap: “AI is rewriting how the world discovers the Italy of taste.”
Whoever stays behind risks no longer being found. If our sites do not speak the language of data, if our hours are not updated on Google, or if our experiences are not bookable online, we simply will not exist for the tourist of the future. We must accept this technological challenge not as a trend, but as basic hygiene for our presence in the world.
However, there is a huge “but” involved. It all lies in what Roberta Garibaldi defines as Natural Intelligence and Social Intelligence. AI can translate our menu into ten languages, manage bookings while we are in the vineyard, and even suggest which target audience to address. But it can never replicate the emotion of a producer who looks you in the eye.
Technology must be our “digital concierge,” efficient and tireless, freeing up our time. But time to do what? To exercise our Social Intelligence and to transform that tourist, whom the algorithm brought to our door, into a friend and a member of our community. I have seen too many wineries invest in expensive technologies and then forget to smile at guests.
Some companies are technically perfect on social media but “cold” in reality. The report tells us that tourists seek “experiential intimacy,” looking for family and true stories rather than a script recited by a chatbot. And then there is Natural Intelligence, our connection with the earth, which proves that we are much more than just simple wine producers.
Telling visitors that we host bees in the vineyard is not just “green marketing.” It is the demonstration that we are guardians of an ecosystem. This is what the visitor wants to hear: that the glass they are drinking is the fruit of deep respect for life. So, welcome Artificial Intelligence if it helps us to be more organized and visible to the world.
Let us use it to analyze data, avoid wasting resources, and speak with the world. But let us remember that the true “smartness” of Italian wine still resides in the heart, hands, and heads of those who make it. The future does not belong to machines, but to those who use them to remain deeply, authentically human.
Key points
- AI is essential for digital hygiene and ensuring wineries remain discoverable by modern, tech-savvy travelers.
- Social intelligence creates emotional bonds and experiential intimacy that algorithms and chatbots simply cannot replicate.
- Natural intelligence highlights the producer’s role as a vital steward of the land and local biodiversity.
- The future of wine tourism relies on using machines to enhance human authenticity rather than replacing it.
