Salerno's wineries and the desire for innovation in wine from Campania
614,000 hectolitres of wine produced in Campania in 2024, up 30% on the previous year: evidence of digitisation but lack of skills
3' min read
3' min read
Italian wine is confirmed as the ambassador of Made in Italy in the world. In 2024, exports exceeded 8 billion euros in turnover, with almost 22 million hectolitres shipped abroad. And in this scenario, Campania plays a far from marginal role.
With a production of 614 thousand hectolitres in 2024 - up 30% on the previous year - the region confirms itself as a laboratory in ferment. Although still a minority presence in terms of quantity, it is on the qualitative and innovative front that Campania stands out, especially thanks to the activism of areas such as the province of Salerno. Here, productive fragmentation is not an obstacle, but an identity trait that drives companies to seek new paths: more digital, more sustainable, more connected.
A research conducted by PidMed - the Salerno Chamber of Commerce's Digital Enterprise Point - in collaboration with the University Federico II of Naples and the Vita Salernum Vites Consortium, has photographed the transformation taking place in the Salerno wine-growing fabric. The study involved 31 companies in the province: a reality largely composed of sole proprietorships (58.2%) or small family-run companies (83.9%), with vineyards of limited size (42.3% have between 5 and 10 hectares), but with a marked vocation for quality and certification (83.9% produce PDO or PGI wines, a third have organic certification).
Despite a digitalisation still in its infancy - only 3.2% of companies can be defined as 'Digital Champion' - 64.5% are in the 'Apprentice' stage, using basic digital tools (social, e-commerce, digital payments). More widespread are some immediate impact technologies such as mobile payments (67.7%), the cloud (61.3%),Gis/Gps systems for vineyard mapping (35.5%). But more advanced solutions are also appearing, such as the Internet of Things (16.1%), Big Data and the growing interest in the introduction of decision support systems (Dss).
"The companies in our province are small and spread out over a wide area, from Positano to Sapri,' explains Andrea Ferraioli, president of the Vita Salernum Vites Consortium, 'but we have a great opportunity: to focus on territorial DOCs, such as that of the Amalfi Coast, and to create a system. Digital can help us cooperate, tell our value better, and distinguish ourselves on the markets'.
