The road winds in tight curves through the hills of Montepulciano. Olive groves, rows of vines, cypresses, and pines. The air is filled with the dry, spicy scent of the Tuscan late summer.

Every now and then, a tractor rattles past with a trailer full of freshly harvested grapes. Which brings us straight to the purpose of our trip: to visit the Tenuta Vallocaia, the winery of the Bindella family.

A Ferrari with Zurich Plates

The access road is indirect – as if one were approaching the estate from behind. 

Already in the parking lot it becomes clear that this is not just another winery. Among Italian cars, including many rental vehicles, a bright yellow Ferrari with Swiss plates shines. Swiss license plates, in fact, are anything but rare at the Tenuta Vallocaia.

A family project: Rudi Bindella junior and senior. (Image: Courtesy)

A Dream Come True

Who in Switzerland does not know the name Bindella? From interviews, portraits, and personal experience at the many Italian restaurants the family has built up and successfully operates.

We meet Rudi Bindella senior here, at the place where he has fulfilled a lifelong dream.

Instant Joy

The host greets us in the best of spirits. His joy at the Tenuta Vallocaia is immediately palpable. 

Alongside him moves his son, Rudi Bindella junior, effortlessly straddling two worlds: a regular here since childhood, but tied more strongly to Switzerland by the division of roles in the family business. When we arrive, he is leaning casually in the entrance, earphones in, absorbed in a business call from Zurich.

View from the Tenuta Vallocaia onto the medieval town of Montepulciano. (Image: Courtesy)

A Temple of Wine Culture

The father, meanwhile, chats with a Swiss couple who have come for a tour. It becomes clear: the Tenuta is not just a winery, but an open house, a place of encounter, a welcoming temple of wine culture «alla Bindella.»

Rudi Bindella senior, just as his Swiss audience knows him: charming, approachable, a host in every gesture. And his real achievement, which must be stated upfront, is that he has managed to refine the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano – long considered somewhat rustic – and to lend it personality and elegance.

A New Cellar Completed in 2018

Together with Rudi Bindella senior and junior, with estate director Giovanni Capuano and German-speaking guest manager Maria Bettina Cerullo, we set out on a tour of the new winery building, completed in 2018.

The somewhat inconspicuous country estate façade that greets visitors at first glance gives way, upon entering, to a completely different, modern aesthetic: generous spaces, art on every wall, a quiet order that is as deliberate as it is culturally grounded. One finds oneself in a modern winery, a museum, and on a stage for the Sangiovese grape, which here suddenly shines with nobility.

The heart of the visitor experience: the tasting hall. (Image: Courtesy)

Montepulciano in All Its Facets

Once inside, the light and atmosphere draw visitors straight to the tasting room. The tall windows frame the landscape like a mosaic. Each section, bordered by delicate wooden muntins, shows Montepulciano in a different aspect: at times a nearby Renaissance town, at others a distant silhouette, or a crisp hillscape in the midday sun. 

It feels as if architect and owner had divided nature into tiles, only to recompose it anew.

The Slow Wonder of Maturation

A little dazed by these impressions, we suddenly find ourselves – following our hosts – in the wine cellar. Or rather: above it. To avoid disrupting operations with tourist flows, the visitors’ gallery is elevated.

At our feet, barrels of French oak in various sizes line up along columns that resemble Roman baths or a refectory more than a production space. The room exudes an almost monastic austerity, where the slow wonder of maturation unfolds.

Monastic calm in the cellar. (Image: Courtesy)

Pioneer in Sauvignon Blanc

And yet, the agronomic advantages of this cellar, designed from scratch, make it a model of technology and energy efficiency. «We can vinify today with a precision that was unthinkable in the old cellar,» explains Capuano.

Our visit coincides with harvest time in Montepulciano. The white grapes (Bindella was the first to introduce Sauvignon Blanc here) are already resting in stainless steel tanks. The harvest of the estate’s signature grape, Sangiovese, has just begun.

A Symbiosis of Wine and Art

The cellar workers sort the grapes, press them, pump the must into tanks, monitor fermentation – and above them, visitors observe the entire process from the gallery, like from a theater box. «Our visitors don’t take part, but they see everything,» notes our guide, Maria Bettina.

But Vallocaia is more than technique. Art is omnipresent: the bold finger paintings of Berlin artist Christopher Lehmpfuhl, which look almost abstract until one steps back and recognizes the Tuscan landscapes they depict. Sculptures by Flora Steiger Crawford, who once shared a studio with Giacometti, and works by Hans Josephsohn, Rolf Brem, Claudine Brusorio, Daniela Ferdani, and Otto Charles Bänninger. Around fifty sculptures and one hundred paintings adorn the estate.

A witness to the magical maturation: sculpture by Flora Steiger Crawford. (Image: Courtesy)

Tuscan Amphorae, Sicilian Majolica

For historical grounding, there are centuries-old amphorae from Tuscany once used to store olive oil, as well as traditional majolica tiles from Sicily.

Nearly 7,000 guests were guided through the estate last year alone, says Ms. Cerullo. Many came from Switzerland, with others from the U.S. and across Europe. «September and October are crucial for us,» she explains. «That’s when the summer tourists are gone, and the true wine lovers arrive – people who really want to understand what happens here.»

The Winemaker

Which brings us to the essence of the Tenuta Vallocaia: the wine itself.

This is the domain of Giovanni Capuano. A native of the Amalfi Coast and trained agronomist, he has been with the Bindella family for more than twenty years.

Estate director Giovanni Capuano. (Image: Courtesy)

Sangiovese, the Diva

With visible enthusiasm, he moves through the halls and cellars as if they had been built just for him – and in a sense, they were. The cellar is his instrument, and he and his team the virtuosos playing upon it.

Capuano speaks of vines and barrels, of microclimates and soils. For him, Sangiovese is a diva, demanding attention and a delicate touch.

An Extensive Portfolio

Depending on the soil, the grape shows a different face: on sandy sites fine and elegant, on the higher, calcareous plots dense, powerful, and structured. The wines mature accordingly – some in large oak casks, others in smaller barriques that add depth and complexity.

Alongside the two flagships, «Vallocaia» and «I Quadri,» he also produces a straightforward Rosso di Montepulciano, a Sauvignon Blanc that is almost exotic for the region, a rosé, a Merlot, a Cabernet Sauvignon called «Gioia,» and a Bordeaux-style blend, the «Ardore.»

100 percent Sangiovese: the award-winning «I Quadri.» (Image: Courtesy)

«Vallocaia» and «I Quadri» as Flagships

And finally, there is the traditional Vin Santo – made once from white grapes and once as «Occhio di Pernice» from red – whose grapes are dried into raisins for months before maturing for years in tiny casks to become a rich essence.

The estate’s ambitious wine production has long been recognized internationally. The «I Quadri» has repeatedly won the top honor of «Tre Bicchieri» from «Gambero Rosso», while both «I Quadri» and «Vallocaia» have been rated between 92 and 93 points by Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, and James Suckling.

Lunch in the Tasting Hall

From theory to practice: in Italy, lunch is never an afterthought – and certainly not at the Tenuta Vallocaia. In the tasting hall, with its panoramic windows, Montepulciano spreads out like a Renaissance painting.

The spacious room is lively on this Friday afternoon, as wine lovers can book the experience as well. Tastings with food pairings are offered only at lunchtime – a deliberate choice, explains Rudi Bindella junior, so as not to compete with local restaurants.

Rudi Bindella junior and senior at Tenuta Vallocaia. (Image: Courtesy)

Rabbit and Self-Irony

On the plates: rustic Tuscan cuisine of high quality, largely sourced from the estate’s own gardens – in our case, a succulent rabbit («coniglio»), accompanied by the estate’s wines.

At the table, Rudi Bindella senior begins to reminisce, mixing self-irony with perspective. He recalls 1983, when he bought the first two and a half hectares – a size that drew laughter at the time: «Too little to live on, too much to die from,» as he puts it.

60 Hectares of Vines

Today the estate has grown to 200 hectares, nearly 60 of them under vine – yet in his memory, the modest beginnings remain vivid.

He recounts how, back in 1971 during a language stay in nearby Perugia, he fell in love with the region and resolved to one day put down roots here.

A harmonious interplay of culture and nature. (Image: Courtesy)

Respecting the Landscape

«The beauty of this landscape was here before us,» he says – and it imposed an obligation. One must not destroy it through excess, but rather respect proportions, materials, and traditions.

He describes how the winery building, constructed between 2015 and 2018, was deliberately designed: restrained in its lines, almost disappearing into the hillside, built with the stones of the region. «Often, when humans intervene, it ends up less beautiful than before,» he remarks.

The Spirit of a Family Business

That he realized this dream with his family adds depth to the story. «In Switzerland we were always the Italians, and here we were the Swiss,» he says with a laugh.

Over lunch, everything that defines Vallocaia comes together: family, architecture, landscape, art, and wine – intertwined, carried by the personality and spirit of the Bindella family.

The Tenuta Vallocaia offers various arrangements for visitors:

Vinotheque Opening Hours

April to October
Monday to Friday
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
November to March
Monday to Friday
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Tours & Tastings

All year round
Monday to Friday (except holidays)
Guided tours at fixed times
10:00 am – 4:30 pm (last tour start)

Kitchen Hours

April to November
Monday to Friday
11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Bindella S.r.l. Società Agricola
Via delle Tre Berte, 10A
53045 Montepulciano (Italy)