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The purpose of this paper is to estimate total productivity change in the winery sector, decomposing it into efficiency change and technical change.

The methodology is based on the estimation of the Malmquist productivity index for a sample of Spanish and Italian wineries between 2005 and 2013.

The results show very low efficiency levels for the wineries under study. Further, Spanish and Italian wineries show a decrease in their average annual productivity for the period of time analysed.

The analysis of the efficiency and the productivity of the wineries is crucial to improve their competitiveness and guarantee their survival.

For the first time, a comparative analysis is carried out with data from two major wine-producing countries.

The organic production technique is a significant innovation for both process and product aspects of the agricultural sector. In less favoured areas, organic production contributes to develop the potential revitalisation of the production sector and also supports the application of endogenous development models, thus favouring sustainable development both on socio‐economic and ecological bases. The paper focuses on a case study about the possible growth of organic production in a mountain area of the Florence province, in Tuscany. The organic and non‐organic agricultural activities of the area are illustrated, with regards to the whole territorial organisation and the need to maintain agricultural activities for territorial defence. The potential development of the organic product supply is described as a result of a direct survey on the major distribution channels. The main reasons for the delayed expansion of the organic production are outlined in a direct survey on the farms of the area.

The paper aims to analyse the current situation and the perspectives of Italian wine in key Asian export markets – China, Japan, India, Singapore and South Korea. These countries show the highest growing rates in wine consumption and are forecasted to become increasingly more strategic for Italian wine producers.

A SWOT analysis is applied to the most recent set of secondary data available from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the Italian National Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE), the International Organisation of Wine and Vine (OIV) and Euromonitor International reports.

The study reveals that the most interesting markets for Italian wines are China and South Korea. The key strengths are mainly related to high quality products, evoking classic values and being perceived as a status symbol, while the main concerns for Italian wines are mainly related to promotion and distribution issues.

The SWOT analysis can be used to develop a strategy that takes into consideration the potential strengths and opportunities and the impact of weaknesses and threats, but it cannot cover all the possible aspects Italian wineries must know about Asian markets. It offers a base for further and deeper thoughts about the how to succeed in the most dynamic and challenging markets of the next 20 years.

Differently from other studies, which tend to analyse Italian perspectives in Asian markets on a country‐by‐country basis, this work represents the most recent and comprehensive research on Italian wines in Asian markets.