Tenuta Vallocaia

Family background and the creation of Vallocaia

The estate grew out of the Italian-Swiss Bindella family’s long involvement with Italian wine. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Jean Bindella began transporting wine flagons with two horses and later introduced the traditional Tuscan flask to Switzerland. His grandson, Rudi Bindella, expanded the family business through the import and distribution of Italian products in Switzerland and through restaurants in major Swiss locations. While studying in Italy, Rudi encountered Montepulciano and decided to establish himself there as a winegrower.

1983–1988: the first property and first Vino Nobile

In 1983 Rudi Bindella acquired Vallocaia in the Argiano area, then a small, partly ruined property with 2.5 ha of vineyards. The purchase established Tenuta Vallocaia in the historic production territory of Montepulciano. In 1985 he added the important Santa Maria holding in Sanguineto. In 1986 the original Vallocaia property was enlarged with olive groves and woodland adjoining the vines, broadening the estate’s agricultural activity and increasing biodiversity. The first Bindella Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, made from the 1985 harvest, reached the market in 1988.

1993–2008: new vineyards and a broader range

Dolce Sinfonia Vin Santo di Montepulciano joined the production in 1993, made in the traditional manner from dried local white grapes. In 1999 the estate acquired the Fossolupaio vineyards at Paterno. The same year, Giovanni Capuano joined Vallocaia, sharing Rudi Bindella’s production philosophy and subsequently becoming estate and technical director.

Fossolupaio Rosso di Montepulciano first appeared in 2001. In 2003 the estate released I Quadri 2000, a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from a single Sangiovese vineyard. The first Sauvignon Blanc vineyard was planted in 2004, and the inaugural 2007 vintage of Gemella Sauvignon Blanc was released in 2008. From 2008 onward, the estate also adopted 500 g bottles to reduce the emissions associated with manufacturing and transporting glass.

2010–2014: Camparone and the estate Riserva

The Camparone property in Cervognano was acquired in 2010. In 2014 the estate presented Vallocaia 2010, its first Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, selected from the best vineyards at Vallocaia.

2015–2021: the underground winery and hospitality

A major redevelopment began in 2015. Its centrepiece was a new underground, energy-efficient winery conceived as both a functional production space and a destination for wine, food, art and hospitality. The building was designed to respect the landscape while providing carefully controlled spaces for vinification and ageing. Construction of the winery was completed in 2018. The same year saw the market release of the first Gemella Rosato, from the 2017 vintage.

A new property at Casalte was acquired in 2019. Work on a new hospitality centre began in 2020, and the Vinoteca and Cucina di Vallocaia opened to guests in 2021. The completed complex brought production, barrel ageing, the historical bottle library, Rudi Bindella’s art and antiquities collection, tastings and seasonal cuisine together at the estate.

2023–2024: forty years and a generational transition

Tenuta Vallocaia celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2023. The anniversary also marked the transfer of leadership from founder Rudi Bindella Sr. to his son, also named Rudi. By this stage, the property had expanded from its original 2.5 ha of vines to a diversified estate encompassing vineyards, olive groves, arable land and woodland.

In 2024 the estate introduced a renewed visual identity after four decades of family ownership. The labels adopted the silhouette of the hills surrounding the winery and the handwritten Vallocaia name signed by Rudi Bindella, placing greater emphasis on the identity of the estate and its Montepulciano setting.

Tenuta Vallocaia lies in the Montepulciano countryside, looking across the Val di Chiana. Its principal vineyards occupy four distinct locations and four corresponding Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Pievi: Sant’Ilario for Vallocaia, Cervognano for Camparone, Sant’Albino for Casalte and Cerliana for Santa Maria. Their different geological origins, landforms, soils and microclimates give Sangiovese contrasting profiles of aroma, acidity, polyphenolic structure and concentration.

Vallocaia

Vallocaia stands on the old hill of Argiano at 260–320 m. Its soils contain abundant sand and silt. Brown, ochre and reddish colours reflect the presence of iron and manganese. Sangiovese from this area is associated with typicity, finesse, elegance and complexity.

Camparone

Camparone adjoins Vallocaia on a hillside fully exposed to the south, at 260–300 m. Its soils resemble those of Vallocaia but contain more clay and are predominantly reddish. This combination produces smaller berries with greater concentration and extract. Compared with Vallocaia, the resulting wines show slightly greater concentration and a somewhat more balsamic, less fruit-led aromatic profile.

Casalte

Casalte lies at 330–410 m. Its unusual stratigraphy begins with 60–100 cm of calcareous, clay-rich grey or brown soil, sometimes mixed with stones. Beneath it are sandy and silty layers that are often strongly cemented. These conditions restrict vine vigour and productivity. Sangiovese ripens latest here, combining acidity and body with aromatic intensity, savoury concentration, personality and ageing potential.

Santa Maria

Santa Maria occupies elevations of 340–365 m. Its uniform, pale-grey, calcareous soil has a loamy-clay texture. The wines are associated with high extract, power and a dense, tightly woven tannic structure.

Small vineyard blocks are separated by hedges and embankments and interspersed with woodland, olive groves and arable fields. This mosaic supports biodiversity and helps manage water within the estate landscape.

The estate works with small vineyard blocks that are fully or partly grassed and bordered by hedges and embankments. Woodland, olive groves and arable fields interrupt the vineyard landscape, strengthening ecosystem diversity and helping optimise water management.

Vine and field cultivation is based on avoiding forcing. The objective is to let each site produce within its natural capacity, build resistance to adversity and deliver sound, physiologically mature fruit that expresses its place of origin. Work is monitored directly through each phase, with respect for natural rhythms.

Spontaneous grass cover is maintained across at least 50% of the vineyards and olive groves. It limits erosion, increases soil organic matter and requires less fuel than repeated cultivation because the grass can be mown. Vineyard parcels are harvested separately by hand. Harvest dates are adapted to each vineyard, with more than one picking pass possible within the same parcel. The lots are then vinified separately to preserve distinctions among sites and stages of ripeness.

Modern ergonomic tractors consume an average of 20% less fuel than the estate’s older machines. No organic or biodynamic certification is identified.

Production approach

Healthy, fully mature bunches are taken from separately harvested vineyard parcels into a deliberately simple but rigorous transformation process. The estate reinterprets Montepulciano tradition in a contemporary manner and avoids operations it considers unnecessary. Heat, cold and gravity are used as primary working tools, while time and rest guide maturation. Separate vinification preserves the identity of individual vineyards and harvest passes.

Underground winery

Work on the new winery began in 2015 and was completed in 2018. The underground structure was designed to respect the landscape and to improve both production function and energy efficiency. Areas with different thermal requirements are separated by corridors and insulated walls. Stainless-steel storage tanks are also insulated to limit temperature fluctuation and energy loss.

The building combines vinification and maturation spaces with visible rows of barrels, large casks and tonneaux. A dedicated area preserves the best bottles for the estate’s Riserva Storica library. Natural light, large glazed areas, red brick, materials chosen to harmonise with the setting, and Rudi Bindella’s collection of art and antiquities integrate production with the visitor route.

Energy and water systems

Photovoltaic panels provide 145 kWp of capacity and cover the winery’s full daytime electricity requirement. Estate-generated electricity corresponds to an estimated reduction of almost 95,000 kg of CO₂ emissions annually. Solar thermal cylinders heat water, which is stored in insulated tanks until required.

Winery wastewater is carefully decanted and transferred to waterproof basins planted with aquatic species. Bacteria associated with their roots break down pollutants, providing a phytoremediation system with lower energy use and emissions than conventional treatment alternatives.

Cellar vessels and maturation

The cellar uses temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks for fermentation, alongside French-oak tonneaux, large oak casks and small caratelli for maturation. Red-wine macerations disclosed across the range generally take place in controlled-temperature steel at 25–28°C and may run for approximately 15–20 days. White and rosé fermentations use cooler controlled temperatures in steel. The principal Vino Nobile expressions mature in large oak casks and/or French-oak tonneaux, followed by bottle ageing. Traditional Vin Santo is made from dried local white grapes and matured for several years in 50-litre oak caratelli.

The estate’s guiding formula is Terra, Vite, Vita — Land, Vine, Life. Its declared values are attachment to native origins and nature, reliability, perseverance, tradition, classicism and balance. Farming is treated as a craft tied directly to the land: vines and fields are cultivated carefully, without forcing them beyond what each place can naturally provide.

The same principle extends to the cellar. Intervention is kept simple so that wines can reflect their surroundings and the work of the grower. Local Montepulciano traditions are retained but interpreted through contemporary precision, site-specific harvesting, separate vinification and modern control of energy and temperature.

Vallocaia’s stated ambition is to understand the character of the land through observation and experimentation and translate it into a modern, evolved and elegant expression. Differences among soils, microclimates, vineyards and vintages are treated as assets rather than variables to erase.

Rudi Bindella’s understanding of sustainability combines respect, care, balance, firm foundations and long-term thought. Environmental measures, architecture, working conditions and human relationships are therefore presented as parts of one approach. The estate also places conviviality at the centre of its identity: wine, food, art, landscape and hospitality are intended to share the pleasure of the place with visitors.

Art is not treated merely as decoration. In Rudi Bindella Sr.’s conception, it belongs to the working winery, shapes the environment experienced by employees and guests, and reinforces the expectation that Tuscan wine should reflect the beauty of the place in which it is grown and matured.