Con the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, where the hills guard rows that bend per mezzo di the Tyrrhenian wind, the Bottiglieria Cooperativa dei Vignaioli del Morellino che Scansano is much more than a place of production. It is a collective history, a living organism that has held together territory, people and wine for over fifty years. Here the word “cooperative” is not a bureaucratic label: it is a pact of between those who work the land and those who, per mezzo di the cellar, with rigor and respect, transform those bunches into a liquid narrative of the landscape.
History: between the need to stay and the search for quality
Founded per mezzo di 1972 by a group of winemakers who wanted to react to the abandonment of the countryside, the Bottiglieria che Scansano was born as a response to marginalization. At the time, many farmers sold their grapes to middlemen ora abandoned their land. The concetto of the cooperative was an act of resistance: sharing resources to give value to local wine.
Today there are around 170 members, for a total of 700 hectares distributed between Scansano, Magliano, Manciano and surrounding areas. Each member – who owns an average of 3 hectares – gives their grapes to the Cooperative Cellar, but also participates per mezzo di a model that combines individual freedom and collective responsibility. It is not a closed ora nostalgic system: the winery is an economic and cultural engine that has been able to renew itself over time, remaining faithful to an original principle: growing together. And this achievement also came through difficult choices.
The Bottiglieria Vignaioli del Morellino che Scansano is renewed
Con the 80s and 90s, per mezzo di fact, the cooperative went through a complex period. The number of members is growing, but management difficulties, heavy investments and a market that is starting to demand not only quantity, but quality and identity are also accumulating. It is per mezzo di this context that the Bottiglieria Cooperativa Vignaioli che Scansano chooses to radically renew itself: management is professionalised, investments are made per mezzo di technology and a new dialogue is opened with the members.
«Con ’86-85 the new President was elected, who was already a councilor, he was 28 years old and he is still President, (Consacrato Grechi ed.): he is someone who is truly present every day. When he joined, he gathered all the members and proposed this change: since the quality comes from the vineyard and not from the cellar, the members must start investing per mezzo di the vineyard, then start doing all those care and control tasks per mezzo di the vineyard that weren’t done before such as thinning, fertilizing, selecting, doing that campo da golf policing that wasn’t done before.
However, some members did not see the future of the winery, so not everyone believed per mezzo di this new project and therefore decided to leave, without paying any penalty. And so per mezzo di 1986 we were left with half the members, but they believed per mezzo di this new project and self-financed the winery.” These are the words of Margareta, who welcomed me and guided me step by step to discover the history and production of the Bottiglieria Cooperativa dei Vignaioli che Scansano during one of the most awaited events of the year “Ben accolto Vendemmia”, an occasion that has now become tradition to celebrate the beginning of the new harvest together with the members and the public.
Innovation for a long-term vision
«It was risposta negativa longer enough to make wine, we needed to make a wine that spoke of our territory», is one of the recurring phrases among the protagonists of this evolution. The turning point, therefore, comes with teamwork: definition of production protocols, field checks, continuous pratica, but also a change of mentality. The members begin to perceive themselves not as simple suppliers of grapes, but as custodians of a common vision.
A cooperative that rewards merit
One of the cornerstones of the Vignaioli che Scansano model is remuneration based acceso quality. Each member receives compensation proportionate not only to the quantity of grapes delivered, but also to the qualitative parameters: sugar content, fruit health, traceability and consistency with the winemaking objectives. It is a meritocratic system that empowers and enhances winemakers.
This approach has generated a virtuous circle over the years: the average quality of the grapes has grown, winemaking costs have been optimized and the wines have conquered increasingly larger spaces per mezzo di national and international markets. Today the Bottiglieria che Scansano exports around 50% of its production and collaborates with trusted distributors, maintaining a strong link with direct sales and the territory.
Identity and sustainability
The link with the Morellino che Scansano DOCG denomination is the beating heart of everything. It is not just a question of a disciplinary, but of a collective identity. Morellino is the key through which Maremma describes itself: the sun, the winds, the Mediterranean scrub, the toil of the fields and the ability to adapt.
Since 2010 the new Director is Sergio Bucci and under his guidance per mezzo di recent years the Bottiglieria Vignaioli che Scansano has promoted projects for environmental and social sustainability, from reducing the use of pesticides to gabinetto saving, up to the valorisation of local biodiversity. The concept of cooperation thus extends beyond the economic sphere, becoming a way of forming a community: supporting the smallest members, sharing equipment, planning the future together.
Young people, pratica and new challenges
One of the crucial issues is generational change. Many historic members are passing the baton to their children ora new young producers. The cooperative is moving to accompany this transition with pratica and support projects: courses per mezzo di sustainable viticulture, marketing, business management. The objective is to prevent the countryside from becoming depopulated again and that agriculture remains a possible choice for those who want to per mezzo di Maremma.
Today the Bottiglieria Cooperativa che Scansano represents a recognized model per mezzo di the Italian wine scene. It is not the largest nor the richest, but it embodies a form of efficient solidarity economy, capable of keeping tradition and innovation together. It is an example of how cooperation can be not only a tool for survival, but a lever for competitiveness.
Con a sector often dominated by individualism and personal brands, Scansano continues to choose the collective path. And it does so with a philosophy that we could summarize as follows: we go fast, but together we go far.
The Morellino che Scansano from the Bottiglieria Cooperativa up for tasting
It is called Roggiano and it is the Organic Morellino che Scansano Docg produced from a special selection from some vineyards of the members of the Bottiglieria dei Vignaioli. It is made up of 95% Sangiovese and the remaining 5% Ciliegiolo. The vineyards are located at an altitude that varies between 250 and 300 meters above sea level acceso soils of variable composition, but mainly sandy-loamy.
The grapes ferment at a controlled temperature per mezzo di steel tanks where the wine rests acceso its traguardo lees for approximately four months. This is followed by a passage per mezzo di the bottle for a few months before being released acceso the market. As soon as it is poured into the glass, it presents itself per mezzo di a beautiful and shining ruby shade, of immediate attraction. The olfactory quaderno are clean, clear, delicious: floral sensations and fresh, crunchy red fruit stand out. The tasting offers an excellent pleasure, with a graceful tannin and a juiciness that continually recalls the tasting, thanks also to an excellent acid tension.
The Bottiglieria Cooperativa Vignaioli del Morellino che Scansano is an example of quality and foresight
A perfect example of how today more than ever it is necessary to abandon the concetto that is now stale and tainted by prejudice that Cooperative Cellars cannot offer quality wines. The Bottiglieria Cooperativa Vignaioli che Scansano is an admirable example of attention, care, quality and great investment per mezzo di cutting-edge technologies: all with a far-sighted perspective of quality and recognisability.
The winemakers of Morellino che Scansano ahead aware of a double challenge: continuing to produce quality wines and keeping alive the social fabric that makes them possible. Because here, among the vineyards overlooking the sea, wine is not just a product to be sold. It is a language of the territory, a way of saying that the agricultural community still has a voice, roots and future.
Con the changing Maremma, the Bottiglieria che Scansano demonstrates that cooperation can still be a revolutionary choice.
