Casato Prime Donne Award 2011

Casato Prime Donne Award 2011 to Carla Fendi

Montalcino celebrated the awarding of the ‘Casato Prime Donne award 2011’ to Carla Fendi and the inauguration of the “Tabernacolo del Brunello per la Madonna”. The celebration concluded with a gala dinner, held at the Fattoria del Colle, which was dedicated to the Unification of Italy

Montalcino September 17th, 2011 - The Casato Prime Donne award celebrated its 13th anniversary with a fairytale day in which art, journalism and the bounty from the land came together in complete harmony.

Carla Fendi, the Italian first lady of fashion was crowned the 'Prima Donna', she is a wonderful role model to all women as she represents femininity in a modern world, whilst still maintaining a creative, intelligent and generous personality. One of the protagonist of the Italian fashion world, she is also an important cultural patron. She was chosen by the judges of the Casato Prime Donne award which was composed of: Francesca Cinelli Colombini, Rosy Bindi, Anselma Dell'Olio , Anna Pesenti, Stefania Rossini, Anna Scafuri and Daniela Viglione. The award giving ceremony opened with a memorial in honour of Mario Guidotti, the journalist, writer, intellectual and cultural promoter who in 1981 originally created the concept from which the initiative of awarding the Casato Prime Donne was born. He was born a Poliziano, and played a key role in the appreciation of the Sienese countryside by creating initiatives such as the Teatro Povero in Monticchiello and the Forme nel Verde in San Quirico d' Orcia.

The award is organized by a Brunello winery in Montalcino, the "Casato Prime Donne" winery, it is the first in Italy to be staffed only by women' explained the proud owner Donatella Cinelli Colombini, 'It is a Flagship in the pink winemaking world' which in recent years has made huge strides within the wine market' Donatella also cited the high marks which have been awarded to her wineries by the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate.

Consistent with the spirit of this company, the award promotes the role of women in society and in the working world and every year selects a female character in the foreground of these fields, this year's award to Carla Fendi, is an acknowledgement and celebration of her professional excellence and social commitment.

Carla Fendi, along with her sisters, is amongst the protagonists who have increased the success and value of Italian fashion within the world market, by transforming a family business which produces fur and leather goods, which she inherited from her parents, into an international brand of enormous stature which has always produced with great success in a factory near Firenze Manager, she has always been passionate about cultural matters and has cultivated acquaintances who, like her, have interests in preserving priceless cultural undertakings. Thanks to her economic generosity and personal patronage the historic theatre Caio Melisso will be restored to its former glory and Il Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds) in Spoleto will once again become a beacon of Italian culture.

The award Casato Prime Donne also recognises excellence in journalism and photography, selecting those works who best promote the importance of this geographical area of Italy and the excellence of its wines.

The photography section had as a theme 'The Brunello and Orcia wines' people and territories'. The winner was chosen from the following 5 finalists: Bruno Bruchi, Paolo Busato, Stefano Caporali, Betty Colombo and Gabriella Salvini Pizzocchero. The judges for this award consisted of 50 individuals who between them represented all the diverse activities which take place in the geographical areas which produce these two wines. Stefano Caporali was chosen as the winner of the award for his photo entitled ' Poggio alle Mura' which was published in a 2012 Tuscany calendar. It is an intense image which captures the essence of the ancient lands of Tuscany and their magic.

The award for the category entitled 'Montalcino and I' has been awarded to Bruna Fattenotte for her program 'Si viaggiare' which was broadcast on TV by RAI DUE on December 7th 2010. It is a spectacular fresco of wine, art, luxury enterprises and shopping opportunities with even a touch of spirituality mixed in, which will certainly attract a diverse selection of future tourists to the area

The Premio Consorzio del Brunello award which had the theme 'Brunello and other Montalcino wines' was awarded to Herwig Van Hove for his article entitled Voorzichtig Optimisme, published in the Knack Magazine on March 1st, 2011

The famous Belgian expert spoke with the judges and the President of the Consortium Ezio Rivella, by videoconference from Halifax in Canada. Van Hove has deep knowledge of the Brunello and other Montalcino wines and never fails to come at visit at least once a year to taste and appreciate them.

The prize 'Montalcino, its history, its art and its wine', which is specifically for articles written by women, was awarded to Marisa Fumagalli and her two articles which were published in the newspaper Corriere della Sera, on February 14th and March 21st, 2011. This last award is perhaps the most in keeping with the concept of recognising achievements of women in different fields. With a solid professional basis Fumagalli translates even the most complex of topics into a language which is comprehensible to everyone. She has successfully tackled difficult topics such as the liberalization of the vineyards a decision made in 2009 by CMO (the Common Market Organization) and the Algorithm which allows wine producers to predict the harvest date well in advance using analytical data.

Carla Fendi's quotation was read aloud at the end of the ceremony to the people of Montalcino, this dedication will be inscribed on a monument in travertine stone and placed along the path through the Brunello vineyards in Casato del Prime Donne . As in past years the quotations made by winners of the awards are placed next to the works of art created by local Tuscan artists or those associated with Tuscany. This year's quotation is next to the Tabernacolo del Brunello alla Vergine. The Madonna and Child, painted by Anna Maria Tesi is surrounded by vineyards planted with the vines of the renowned wine. This unique structure stands over three metres tall, it was created by Michele Liberatori, Ruben Romualdi and Marco Bondioli from Liberatori & Romualdi Architetti Associati and it is a means of displaying traditional artefacts in a modern way which still maintains the important spirituality of the art.

After the ceremony the two hundred invited guests of the Fattoria del Colle at Trequanda enjoyed a dinner dedicated to the 150 years of the Unification of Italy

The dinner menu consisted of a starter from the North of Italy, a main course from Central Italy and a dessert from southern Italy. Everything was excellent, but in particular the guests enjoyed the tomatoes Pomodorino di Corbara, specifically il Corbarino, the world's most delicious tomato which grows near Monti Lattari close to Mount Vesuvius and the 2006 Brunello wine 'Camiciarossa', which celebrates the Garibaldi ancestors of Donatella Cinelli Colombini.