We help grape growers and winemakers blend modern technology with time-honoured practice, growing healthier vines, producing better grapes, and crafting wines that reflect their land while sustaining the communities and environments that depend on it.
Our story
Aurelia was founded in 2024 by cousins Nick Salloway and Federico Benincasa.
Nick is British with a proud Tuscan heritage thanks to his paternal grandmother and Italian-born father. He spent many happy childhood holidays in Poggibonsi and returned to his Italian family's hometown in 2023 for the first time in over thirty years.
Like many working-class families in Italy at the time, Nick's great-grandfather lived under one roof with his four children (including Nick's grandmother), their spouses and his grandchildren. In their case, the roof was that of the old Chianti bottling plant in the city. In this sense, Nick has always had a connection to Italy and to the wine industry.
Nick was last in Poggibonsi aged nineteen and, after over 25 years working in technology transformation businesses including his own, he decided to return to Poggibonsi looking for a completely new life and a career change.
Federico, Nick's cousin, with a post-graduate degree in business and economics, is an entrepreneurial young Tuscan. After many conversations over lengthy family dinners, Nick and Fede decided they wanted to help farmers use data and AI to predict and respond to the adverse growing conditions caused by climate change.
Nick and Fede have a vision for how technology can help digitally transform the wine industry in Tuscany and beyond. Supported by a hugely experienced team, they are building a business that truly matters.
Meet the team
Anchored by our values
We grow together
We know technology. You know viticulture. Together, we are deeply rooted in your world. Together we will discover new ideas that help us achieve our shared vision of the future.
We do not rest on what we know. We remain curious, always learning and seeking innovative ways to improve ourselves and the world around us. We grow together.
We make today count
The future is ours to create, but the work we do today matters. Building a better, more sustainable tomorrow demands action now.
We are here to drive change, to make an impact, starting right now, to deliver outcomes and results that make tomorrow more certain. Together, we are building a legacy that will last.
We stay humble
We are more than just a partner. We are friendly and approachable, your straightforward, trusted confidant; an extended family member, if you like.
We promise to be at your side, open minded, ready to listen, thrilled by your successes. We turn up. We follow through. We earn trust by what we do, not what we say.
We do the right thing
There is what we could do, what we should do, and what we must do. It is easy to say but sometimes difficult to do the right thing, particularly when it is not the best thing for us personally.
We are unapologetically guided by our values. Integrity is non-negotiable.
