Cocco

Medieval origins

Poggio Cocco occupies a strategic hill above the Orcia and Ombrone valleys, facing Monte Amiata. Its name derives from Cocco Salimbeni, the powerful lord who controlled the Rocca di Castiglione d’Orcia and troops stationed along the Via Francigena in the early 15th century. Podere il Cocco functioned as a military observation post: the position offered surveillance of the Salimbeni stronghold to the east and views extending south toward the Mediterranean. The estate’s stone buildings and commanding position preserve this transition from medieval military outpost to agricultural property.

The vineyard in the 18th century

Vigna del Cocco was already recorded in 1765, the year associated with the Catasto Leopoldino. Viticulture continued on the property thereafter, progressively developing the cultivated ground and the vitality of its plants.

Four Bindi generations from 1900

The Bindi family’s connection to Podere il Cocco began around 1900. Gino Bindi, remembered as the early-20th-century family patriarch, married one of the Ciacci sisters, whose family owned the Villa a Tolli estate. He managed the Bindi-Ciacci farms on horseback.

After the war, Giovanni Bindi inherited Podere il Cocco from his great-uncle Gino and undertook a complete renovation. Giacomo Bindi remembers Giovanni as his grandfather and as a man deeply attached to the estate’s altitude, cool summers and quiet surroundings. Giovanni lived to the age of 106 and ultimately left the property to Giacomo through Giacomo’s grandmother.

The farm was historically worked by sharecroppers. Over time, these farming families became close friends of the Bindis and passed practical knowledge, traditional techniques and respect for the land to Giacomo. Franco Meattini was particularly important as a friend and mentor who personally taught him Tuscan rural practices. Giacomo began working at the estate at the age of fourteen.

Agritourism from 1972

In 1972 Giovanni opened the estate’s first guest rooms under agritourism licence no. 2 of the province of Siena. Podere il Cocco consequently became one of the earliest agritourism properties in the Val d’Orcia, combining an active farm with family hospitality.

The present winery and organic conversion

In August 2000, Giacomo Bindi and his father, Mirco, launched the present Il Cocco winery. Their aim was to revive the historic estate, make quality wine and work without exploiting the land. Giacomo assumed leadership of the fourth generation and converted the farm to certified organic production.

The organic approach developed through practical experiments, failures and successes. Permanent vegetation, minimal tillage and natural treatments became central to vineyard management, alongside continuing study of biodynamic techniques. The objective expanded from eliminating synthetic inputs to restoring ecological balance, soil fertility and biodiversity throughout the vineyards, olive groves and gardens.

Food Forest and diversification

In 2024 the estate began its Food Forest agroforestry project. It combines fruit production with aromatic plants, seasonal vegetables and native trees—including oak, holm oak and ash—to build a resilient, increasingly self-sufficient ecosystem and recreate elements of the original biodiversity of the Tuscan countryside.

Recent challenges and simplification

An undated crowdfunding initiative followed two serious setbacks during the same agricultural year: a suspected arson attack in the cellar and an abnormal hailstorm that struck the vineyard. The appeal was intended first to help the family recover and then to support new projects encompassing wine, olive oil, vegetables and natural essences.

After years of simultaneously managing the restaurant, accommodation, winery, vineyards, guests and employees, Giacomo chose to simplify the business. Rising costs for high-quality ingredients—reported at 25–30%—and the strain of restaurant staffing and service contributed to the decision. The restaurant is closed for the 2026 season, while the farm, winery, tastings and slower form of hospitality continue.

Podere il Cocco has farmed organically since 2000 and describes its current system as regenerative agriculture informed by biodynamic experimentation. Synthetic fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilisers are excluded. Treatments use low doses of copper and sulphur together with effective microorganisms, volcanic zeolite, kaolin, wood vinegar, propolis and other natural plant tonics intended to support the vines’ own defences.

Permanent spontaneous vegetation is maintained between the rows. Wheat, barley and broad beans are also sown to return organic matter and nitrogen to the ground. A roller lays the vegetation down as natural mulch, helping conserve moisture, feed the soil and protect microbial life without conventional weeding. Crop rotation, on-site composting and minimal tillage supplement this programme. Vineyard rows are worked only about once every three years, allowing diverse wild flowers and herbs to remain and encouraging exchanges among root systems.

Tractor use is deliberately limited. Smaller, lighter machinery is preferred to reduce compaction and protect the porous soil structure needed for deep roots. The estate associates permanent cover, minimal cultivation and biodiversity with stronger natural resistance to pathogens and fungal disease.

Hundreds of bee-supporting plants—including lavender, rosemary and cherry trees—have been planted around the farm. Ecological corridors connect vineyards, native-variety olive groves, permaculture gardens and the Food Forest, providing habitat for bees, butterflies, wild birds and small mammals. The Food Forest combines fruit trees with aromatic plants, seasonal vegetables, oaks, holm oaks and ash trees.

Vines are observed throughout their biological cycle. Harvesting is by hand, and grapes are carefully selected so that only suitable fruit is directed to Brunello even in difficult vintages. The estate’s wider circular system includes well-water irrigation for the vegetable gardens, almost 20 kW of photovoltaic panels for electricity and solar-thermal equipment for hot water.

Estate cellar

All stages from grape growing and harvest through vinification, maturation and bottling take place at Podere il Cocco. The cellar was created beneath the agritourism rooms in spaces formerly used as animal stables. It contains stainless-steel tanks, barrel-ageing rooms, bottling equipment and bottle-storage areas.

Fermentation

Fermentation takes place in stainless-steel tanks for approximately 30 days. Indigenous yeasts developing on the grape skins during the growing season convert the must, while extended contact with the skins provides colour and body. The use of native yeasts is intended to retain the character of the estate and prevent a standardised aromatic profile.

Steel and oak maturation

After fermentation, wine rests for several months in stainless steel before transfer to oak. The estate uses 500 L tonneaux sourced from France, Hungary and Austria. Brunello matures in wood for approximately three years. Oak provides slow micro-oxygenation, assisting the evolution of tannin and acidity, while contributing tertiary aromas.

The oak programme changes with every vintage. Immediately after fermentation, while the wine is still warm and before winter, Giacomo tastes the new wine and decides which origins of oak to use, how much new wood to purchase, and which seasoning and toast levels best suit that year. The intention is to preserve vintage differences rather than impose a repeatable house aroma.

Assembly and certification

Following oak ageing, Brunello returns to stainless steel. This stage integrates the different barrel components and their aromas, building complexity and depth. It also forms part of the process through which the wine is certified and authorised to carry the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG designation.

Bottling and storage

Bottling is performed on the estate with semi-automatic machinery. Each bottle is handled several times during filling and corking. Natural first-grade cork closures receive Mureddu’s IGEA treatment, selected to keep pyrazine, geosmin and guaiacol below sensory-perception thresholds.

Bottles are individually labelled by hand and stored at the estate with control of temperature, humidity and light. Brunello receives at least four months of bottle maturation, with bottles laid horizontally in a room maintained at approximately 18°C. Bordeaux-shaped dark-glass formats range from 0.75 L through 1.5 L and 3 L to 18 L.

Podere il Cocco’s guiding principle is to live with the land rather than exploit it. Organic farming is treated as a daily responsibility extending across the vineyard, cellar, olive grove, gardens, hospitality and the needs of future generations—not merely as a product label.

Giacomo Bindi seeks to create a living farm in which people and nature remain in balance. The objective is not maximum volume but optimised quality within a resilient, self-sufficient agricultural system. Each intervention is intended to reinforce the existing ecosystem rather than replace its functions. Continuous experimentation combines inherited peasant knowledge with regenerative agriculture, biodynamic preparations, microorganisms, agroforestry and renewable energy.

The same outlook governs winemaking. Indigenous yeasts and a vintage-specific oak programme are used to avoid standardised aromas and retain variations between growing seasons. Quality is understood as the expression of healthy soil, ecological complexity and careful manual work rather than technological uniformity.

Family continuity and human relationships are equally central. Knowledge inherited from earlier generations, sharecroppers and mentors provides the foundation for present practice. Hospitality is deliberately informal and slow, conceived as an opportunity to share everyday farm life rather than reproduce an anonymous hotel or luxury-resort model.