How AI is Changing the Wine Tour Business in Tuscany — Have We Still Got the Magic?!

Around a year ago, when the general use of AI became “normal” and everyone started worrying about how it would impact their lives and livelihoods, I too started pondering how it would change our business of running wine tours in Tuscany.

Honestly, I remember feeling pretty safe, because I thought AI would never be able to take the job over completely. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if, sometime in the not-so-distant future, there will be self-driving cars shuttling people between wineries, with apps automatically booking short tastings according to timing, availability, budgets, and preferences. So could this job eventually be taken over by a smarter service? Who knows. But wouldn’t it feel deeply dehumanising?!

Luckily, I think most humans still enjoy other humans enough to want genuine connection, especially when we’re outside of our daily routines. We already use AI on so many levels, but certain experiences are simply more enjoyable when there’s a real human involved. It’s like doing an audio tour in a museum — which isn’t bad — versus having a passionate guide bring seemingly dead pieces of art to life right in front of you. That’s magic!

When we travel to different cultures, AI can certainly give us a quick run-through of the sights, history, and customs, but it’s not the same as having a curious conversation with a local and watching their eyes light up while talking about a regional ritual, a favorite trattoria, or an amazing bottle of wine you’re about to taste on your tour.

Would you rather go to the restaurant ranked #1 on Tripadvisor (along with the rest of the world!), or to a tiny eatery recommended by an insightful local? Personal recommendations still carry unmatcheable value.

If we learned anything from Covid and the subsequent smart-working era, I think it’s that people deeply value in-person experiences. Travel has become, more than ever, a way to escape the lonely and somewhat artificial world we often end up leaning into — like an Olympic swimmer gasping for air between strokes.

And if we’re a little rough around the edges these days, a glass of Tuscan wine surely helps us open up and enjoy each other’s company!

So how has AI changed our work as wine tour operators over the past year?

It’s impossible to deny that AI is influencing how we all work. Do I use ChatGPT? Yup — almost every day! I’m not a 100% native English speaker, so my writing isn’t always crystal clear, prepositions occasionally land in the wrong place, and of course there are the usual typos. AI is incredibly efficient at helping us all sound like English college professors!

I naturally receive a lot of messages from potential guests looking for tours. I’ve noticed that many people feel overwhelmed by websites and don’t actually want to read through what’s on offer. They want a quicker fix: “Just tell me what I should do.” Which, of course, I’m happy to help with.

Often people ask ChatGPT how they should spend the “perfect day wine touring in Tuscany,” and then send me a fully AI-written email outlining the plan — including which wineries they should visit (always the same freakin’ list — I wrote about this in a previous blog post, Which Are the Best Wineries to Visit in Tuscany?).

NOTHING is as dull as replying to an AI-written email filled with bullet points and robotic phrasing. Though, to be fair, ChatGPT has definitely helped make me Miss Politeness.

I find it challenging to keep a polite tone and to patiently explain that we’ve been in this business for over 25 years, and therefore don’t need a list of so-called “top-ranked” wineries — because that’s not where I’m going to take you anyway.

Our goal is to create a wonderfully human experience. So if you come with us, we’ll most likely go off the beaten track and visit smaller, organic, family-run wineries — places where the wines are delicious, the people are passionate, and the bottles are usually far more reasonably priced too.

Please don’t get me wrong: our philosophy is not an anti-AI manifesto by any means.

The philosophy that gave birth to our business over 20 years ago hasn’t changed at all. The goal was always to connect curious travelers with real farmers across nationalities and borders. It’s still a work in progress, and every day we continue building those connections — because they are meaningful, and because they genuinely make both us and our guests happy.

Communicating this mission isn’t always easy, so Pierre, my husband, recently ensured that our business successfully completed the screening process to become B Corp Certified — helping us formalize our commitment to benefiting both people and the planet.

Fortunately, emailing isn’t completely oblete yet, and it’s a pleasure when someone actually takes the time to write one (I know we don’t always have the time, and I’m guilty of that, too). More and more people now use WhatsApp to communicate, perhaps because it feels more immediate, harder to ignore, or allows you to remain slightly anonymous without having to go through formalities like “Dear…” and “Best regards…” Why bother, when you can simply write: “HEY” followed by a one-sentenced request?!

I wake up to messages like that and tackle them with my morning coffee. And honestly, I don’t really mind once the caffeine kicks in. It’s just that there’s something almost romantic about receiving a real email — when it’s clearly written by the actual person.

I don’t know about you, but I do feel that people’s attention spans have gotten shorter.

With AI, we’re able to know a little about everything, but perhaps it also prevents us from diving deeply into things. And no, I’m not saying you should sit down and study my entire website before choosing a tour with us…

But browse a little. Perhaps with a glass of wine.

Study the maps and see where you’re going.

Learn a tiny bit about the wines produced in the region.

Once you know those things, you can practically close your eyes and pick any of our tours because they are honestly all amazing. If you skip that process of diving in just a little, you also miss a huge part of the anticipation before the trip itself — and anticipation is a large part of the experience.

If you’ve read this far, I have great news for you: your attention span is already much longer than most people’s, which nowadays is practically a superpower ;)

Let’s keep it that way, and continue living our lives with our senses wide open to meaningful human experiences — because they really are magic.

Cheers, Rebecca 🍷

NB: This was written with minimal use of AI (I do use the spellcheck)

NBB: As I'm hopeless at drawing, the illustration above was generated by ChatGPT, thanks 🙏

NBBB: Follow us on Instagram to see real moments of real humans connecting in Tuscany :-D https://www.instagram.com/grapetours/ 

One of many ways to connect through wine on a wine tour in Tuscany 😜