We have been in the wine trade in Switzerland for over 100 years. Jean Bindella was the first to import Chianti into the country. It was immediately clear to his descendants that "a sense for wine" and true care for this noble product can only be developed through a direct wine-making experience. Our farm has now become a starting point for introducing our 1,000 Swiss collaborators working in the gastronomy and wine trades to the world of wine.

We consider it a privilege, if not a gift, to be able to work the land. Our wines bear the energy of the land from which they arise. We avoid unnecessary manipulations in the cellar and rely on physical laws (heat, cold, gravity) to give our wine the time and tranquility it needs to mature.

Our motto, terra vite vita, represents our entrepreneurial vision, the way we work, and our approach: it lights up the way ahead, and expresses our attachment to the land, our care for nature, and our joie de vivre.

At the time we purchased it in 1984, Vallocaia, not far from Montepulciano, consisted of two plots of land: upper Vallocaia and lower Vallocaia (Vallocaia di sopra and Vallocaia di sotto), which comprised 2.5 ha of vineyards, 10 ha of woods and a crumbling farmhouse (see photo - left). The following year we managed to buy an additional 15 ha, 6 of which we turned into vineyards.

Further to subsequent acquisitions made in 1986, 2000, and 2006, we now own 93 ha of land, one third of which is devoted to growing grapes: Sangiovese, Prugnolo Gentile, Canaiolo nero, Colorino, Mammolo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah, as well as white varieties such as Malvasia, Trebbiano, and Sauvignon Blanc. We produce 120,000 bottles of wine per year. Our extra-virgin olive oil comes from about 2,500 olive trees, some very old, which are planted in an 8 ha grove.

As of 2008 we plan to grow wheat on about 25 ha of land exclusively for our 33 restaurants in Switzerland. This will enable us to meet the high-quality standards we set ourselves for basic products by our own means.