A new booklet by Donatella Cinelli Colombini with 16 traditional recipes from the Sienese countryside, some revisited and some unheard of.

A new booklet with recipes and stories from Tuscany

Other than for stimulating the appetite, this recipe book opens a window on the Tuscan modern civilization where tradition and novelty are blended using the same ingredients. In the Italian countryside with the highest density of foreign VIP guests, old recipes are no longer enough, and so we delve into our memories of the past to find recipes that are today unknown, at the same time there is an increase in the desire to use saffron, Cinta Senese and chickpeas … in a different way. So there is an evolution in tradition which Donatella Cinelli Colombini does not feel is a betrayal but more of a photograph of a rural territory where new residents and true farmers (as she professes to be) often speak English, travel, go to concerts, read books… in other words they are the first example of a rural civilization, fascinated by the past but also intrigued by what is new. So her we have the Ciancifricola or the Acqua cotta di Pasqua and the Peposo dei fornaciai which talk about past times of poverty and astuteness in preparing delicious dishes with whatever was available.

Next are the Pinci all’oro della Val d’Orcia which emphasize the renewed production of saffron after decades of being abandoned, or the Maltagliati con il ragù di cinghiale where the intense taste of the game is absorbed with the use of the chickpeas. There are recipes that no one had ever thought of preparing at home, such as Panforte, which in the end are very easy and the result is extraordinarily different from the industrial product most easily found.
In other words more than a recipe book, this new publication by Donatella Cinelli Colombini is a fun and useful manual regarding modern Tuscan country life. It is available in Italian and in English.

There is only one problem: it will only be on sale in the two wineries Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and, in the Toscana Lovers shop in the centre of Siena. Not to worry, it will be a good reason to go and visit those beautiful places and to taste the Brunello, the Chianti and the Doc Orcia that Donatella produces so passionately.

On Sunday May 26th great wines, great music and great images from the land of Brunello at Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s winery for a “sensorial” Cantine Aperte-Wine day

Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne winery Wine Day 2013

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who in 1993 invented Cantine Aperte, has decided to renew the formula for the visit among the barrels, transforming it into an experience which exalts and comments wine with sounds, images and obviously tastes. The sound track studied by Bonella Ciacci – a sort of expert in wine and music accompanies 8 wines divided in three tasting spots.

We are at Casato Prime Donne, on the Montalcino hills, facing Siena, and this is where the wine and music trail is. First stop dedicated to Chianti and Doc Orcia from Fattoria del Colle, Donatella’s other winery. Here the music is contemporary Italian pop from the area such as Baustelle, Gianna Nannini and Jovanotti. The next stop in the Vineyard and the vinification areas called tinaia del vento built to produce Brunello with autochthonous yeasts.

700 million Euro in 2012 with + 6,8% during the first 9 months for exports of Tuscan wines, a success built ton missions abroad and a new way of organizing fairs

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Florence - Buy Wine 2013

Very positive comments for the Tuscan wine exports where the DOCG and DOC wines have opened the way with +9,6% built especially through the expeditions to the USA. The stars and stripes wine lovers are among the major Tuscan wine estimators, these Tuscan wines in the States have proven a well deserved + 14% , this is market where in fact the most investments for events and tastings have been done by the Consorzi and by the Regione Toscana.

The amministrazione regionale – Toscanapromozione – has organized the first true wine fair of the new millennium: Buy Wine at the Fortezza da basso in Florence where the producers met operators through an innovative method of making offer and demand meet. 10.000 exhibitors and 30.000 operators took part at the event.

Enthusiastic, imaginative, tough, idealist, strong willed, glutton …. I created Cantine aperte, Wineday, I am the defender of women in wineries and of the superstar Brunello

Donatella Cinelli Colombini holding Sangiovese

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini grape-grower in Montalcino

I hate doing sport, I prefer to read or watch a classical ballet on the web. I would like to eat chocolate, salmon, Parmigiano and spaghetti but they are things that are not good for me….I don’t give up though, I enjoy good food too much
When I was councillor in Siena I was called “tank” because I faced projects with great Energy, maybe too much. One of my defects is in fact the lack of half measures, if I believe in an idea I fight for it.
I am embarrassingly lucky and even the most incredible projects have a happy ending.

At Fattoria del Colle – country inn in Tuscany - wedding couples from al lover the world and of different religions often choose

Wedding_ fattoria_del_Colle_horn_of_plenty_with_rice

small hearts or bubbles as a wedding wish

At Fattoria del Colle every wedding is different. The location changes as does that of the banquet, the entrees and the cutting of the cake are also different…in other words every couple has a unique experience planned carefully in every detail. Wedding couples of every nationality and religion have different habits and traditions, so the usual throwing of rice after the ceremony becomes something else.

First of all, on the contrary to what happens inItaly, foreign wedding couples come

Wedding_in_Tuscany_Fattoria_del_Colle

out before everyone else form where the marriage has taken place and then they stop to greet relatives.

The moment the couple exits is solemn and usually underlined just like and maybe more than their entrance. For the photographs this is perfect!

It is consequently necessary to organize a space where to stop with a doorway or a staircase for the bouquet throwing.