NEWS AND EVENTS

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News from Casato Prime Donne and Fattoria del Colle, territory, comments on the world of wine, events and wine personalities

2 October 2018

Cristina Cippitelli will be our first Master Sommelier

Cristina Cippitelli: the love for the soil comes from her grandparents in Gaeta but she has learned to taste in Boston and Toronto and now she has won a Master Sommelier scholarship

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Montalcino, Brunello

Cristina-Cippitelli-will -be-the-first-Italian -Master-Sommelir-

Cristina-Cippitelli-will -be-the-first-Italian -Master-Sommelier-

And I am not referring to the Alma-AIS institute title that a few years ago created reaction of indignation but I am talking of the Court of Master Sommeliers a fellowship born in 1969 that includes 240 members in USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Germany, Holland and France. These are the top of the sommelerie: tasters, journalists, opinion makers, wine educators… these are competent professionals, of great talent and who have an enormous influence on the market.

Their president is the great Gerard Basset who is also a Master of Wine. But the Master Sommeliers are now rivals, for prestige and influence of the very powerful MWs, in fact in some cases they are even more powerful.

There is not one Italian among either the Masters of Wine or the Master Sommeliers.

Cristina-Cippitelli-and-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

A sign of provincialism that also surfaces in International competitions: when ther are Italians on the podium they work abroad , just like Paolo Basso. Also the young women who might become the first Italian Master Sommelier lives in Canada. Her name is Cristina Cippitelli, and she came to visit me at Fattoria del Colle , from Toronto where she works at the Air Canada Center while she is studying for the Wset diploma and for the Advanced Certificate for the Master Sommelier.

She is a lovely person and has a great story that I will tell you.

29 August 2018

in Vines and wines

by Donatella

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Grape harvest and racking between Brunello, Orcia and Chianti

A short break at the end of the summer, or a weekend in autumn for a full immersion in the wines Brunello, Orcia and Chianti: September 1^st-2nd and October 5-7^th

Brunello Harvest and racking

This proposal during harvest and racking is for wine lovers who want to see how the wines are born but also for lovers of the countryside and of its harmonium landscapes, of its traditional cuisine, of a simple but elegant style of life

Donatella Cinelli Colombini proposes two experiences: the first should coincide with the white grape harvest and to the moment of first tastes of the red grapes. The second on the other hand should be when the Sangiovese grapes for Brunello and the clusters for Doc Orcia and Chianti Superiore reach the cellar. To see how these famous wines which get International consent are born, is an exciting experience that allows one to come into contact with nature and allows you to share the producer’s passion.

September 1st-2nd, two days one night pull of experiences that enrich with knowledge and emotions.

Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

Arrive on Saturday afternoon, tour the vineyards and learn about the technique of tasting grapes that allows grape growers to evaluate the ripening and to foresee the date of the harvest. Hoping in favourable weather and the cellar decisions, you should be able to take part in the phases of picking and preserving the Traminer grapes for the Passito. Then a tour of the winery with a tasting of 3 Brunello and then a 4 course dinner matched with four wines from Fattoria del Colle. Next morning transfer to Montalcino with own car to the winery Casato Prime Donne where our brave wine lovers with have a guided tour of the cellar and then a very technical tasting of Brunello from the barrel to understand the different charring and ages of the barrels, then they will taste the preview of the Brunello Riserva 2013 and then the Riserva 2012 to finally taste a Brunello of at least 10 years. Before leaving a nice walk around the vineyards will give new experiences in tasting the grapes and will make the drive back safer.

16 August 2018

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella

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Do we need many different wine glasses,or is one sole glass best?

wine-glasses-Jancis-Robinson

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

One glass for all wines. This is not a new idea; in 2012 I took part in the Chateau Baccarat presentation, this was created by the most famous crystal ware producers in the world, with a story of polished crystals 250 years long, especially wine glasses. A revolutionary glass with a long stem to sustain the cup that has a practically flat base that widens and then goes straight up to a narrow mouth so as to concentrate the aromas in a funnel. Last year I heard about another project for wine glasses that are just as revolutionary, in Portopiccolo during the Donne del Vino national meeting; è has been created by Luca Bini for Italesse, three years of trials.

wine-glasses-Jancis-Robinson

A very feminine glass that is also very versatile, but most of all able to emphasize any wine even though it was thought out for sparkling wines.

So now there is a right-about-turn with respect to the usual proposal of a glass for each and every wine, bubbles, young reds, aged reds, wines for meditation … that fill our cupboards. Great wine taster and high end designers have worked on these new “millevini” wine glasses, . These are not low profile choices and the extortionate price of the Chateau Baccarat proves this.

8 August 2018

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella

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Wine and bell peppers, a spicy union

I got the idea from Daniele Cernilli and his sweet and round bell peppers stuffed with tuna and matched with Vermentino Maremma DOC. A desire for something different

wine-and-bell-peppers-Habanero

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini Fattoria del Colle agriturismo with restaurant

All about matching wine and bell peppers

NAME AND HISTORY

Let’s start by saying that this vegetable comes from the Americas, probably Peru. It was brought to Europe during Christopher Columbus’s second transoceanic journey in 1493. The scientific name is “Capsicum” that comes from the Latin word “capsa” which meant box. In America they called it chilli or xilli and still today maintains the name while the word pepper, used over here, depends on its similarity to pepper

Once arrived in Europe, the cultivation of bell peppers spread rapidly especially in the warmer climates around the Mediterranea

wine-and-bell-peppers-Capsicum-Malaysia

.CULTIVATION

This grows on a perennial plant with a short life, and is picked in June –July and September. To cultivate them the seeds must be planted in February and to increase their hotness, when the fruit has formed, one must reduce the watering, and doing so only when the leaves are droopy. The difference between red and green bell peppers, of the same species, depends only upon the level of ripening, the green ones are unripe.

26 July 2018

in Farm experiences

by Donatella

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Lighting for summer dinners at Fattoria del Colle

Summer nights in the countryside, lights, glow worms, outdoor meals. New lighting for summer dinners at the Fattoria del Colle restaurant

Lighting-for summer-dinners-Fattoria-del-Colle

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

For those who come from abroad it is a must: in Italy one must bring light cloche, flip flops and dine under the stars. Millionaires and tourists-on-the-road alike, everyone has the same romantic dream. Obviously their necessities differ: from costly and exclusive events where film producers and starred chefs create unique and private experiences…to glamour events where lights and music create the right atmosphere for famous and less famous people, but everyone is anxious to be seen and photographed by some gossip magazine.

Lighting-for-summer-dinners-Fattoria-del-Colle-before-dinner

And so on until we get to the locations apt for a vaster public: the Sicilian ”baglio”, the “masseria” in Puglia, the medieval hamlet in Tuscany … and not to mention the classical terraces overlooking the sea and the tables in the squares of the historical towns and villages with views of artistic monuments .

The open air dinner is part of a trip to Italy just like a visit to the Coliseum or like a true pizza. It is up to us to transform them into magical moments and the lighting has a very important role

FATTORIA DEL COLLE BY NIGHT

At Fattoria del Colle we have tried to put a little originality to our nights and we hope to offer special experiences for outdoor dinners.

16 July 2018

in Farm experiences

by Donatella

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Archi, a villa for parties

Magnificent panorama, swimming pool and private parks, dining room with monumental fireplace, 5 bathrooms and 7 bedrooms with air conditioning. Villa Archi is a perfect Tuscan villa for parties

Villa-for-parties-Toscana-Archi-Fattoria-del-Colle-agriturismo

The luxury of a 2000 sq m villa and a garden that extends over one hectare and that reached the olive groves and the surrounding vineyards. The unique experience of living in a building three hundred years old that still has its porch with its outdoor oven and threes is a fireplace so large you can sit in it. A villa in exclusive use, with nobody else around, in the silence of the countryside.

A truly authentic Tuscan retreat but also modernly equipped: the 7 bedrooms have air conditioning (5 bathrooms), Wi-Fi, TV, a fitted kitchen … In other words there is the intimacy imparted by the antique furnishings, the freedom of wide open spaces and some of the most beautiful panoramas in Tuscany, together with the luxury of a private swimming pool for your sole use right in front of the villa.

Villa-for-parties-Toscana-Archi-swimming-pool-Fattoria-del-Colle-agriturismo

This is an ideal place to organize a holiday with friends, to sun bathe, to have dinner all together at the same table under the gazebo, or in the dining room in the villa. And for those who love enriching holidays it is possible to take part in cookery lessons, wine tastings,

tours … organized every day at

Fattoria del Colle.

Villa Archi is also apt for organizing a birthday or degree celebration. Fattoria del Colle with its small hamlet and restaurant is only about 200 m away hidden by an olive grove. It can supply traditional food, excellent wines, water and all that is necessary to organize a stylish party.

10 July 2018

in Not only wine...

by Donatella

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The 10 best jobs in wine

Wine critic, wine shop owner, brand manager, journalist, wine educator, organizer of events, wine maker, and buyer: these are the 10 best jobs in wine

Paolo-Basso-world champion-sommelier-atl Casato Prime Donne

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

Many start working in wine by changing a passion into a profession but everybody ought to know that before the shiny world of parties, elegant clothes, travels and starred meals, there really is a lot of hard work.

The Drinks Business has tried to list the 10 best wine professions, here I summarize just a few notes, but the article is great fun and I suggest you read it. As you will note among the 10 top professions “wine producer”does not appear, those who grow grapes and transform them into wine to sell it. Maybe this is the hardest job, but in my opinion, the best.

10 best jobs in wine-Viviana-Vecchione-buyer

BUYER Spends most of his time in front of the computer, checking stocks and sales, marketing plans and emails. But he does travel and gets to know wine regions and gets to taste a lot too. The best thing about this job is the possibility to get to know many wine areas and many producers.

WINE MAKER – WINERY DIRECTOR Hard job but also fascinating and is always different because every harvest is a new story. To be successful you need to travel and work in other nations.

EVENT ORGANIZER Apt only for those who can handle stress well. This alternates a preparatory job made up of meetings and contacts with some moments where you run night and day.

WINE EDUCATOR This is a new profession that is growing fast, you need to be competent but also have a great ability in communication, and one must be engaging

4 July 2018

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella

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The most expensive whiskey in the world

31 May 2018

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella

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Bordeaux 2017 vintage, limited but good

The Bordeaux 2017 vintage reserves some surprises to the wineries: limited grapes, excellent ratings but maybe a decrease in prices

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

Bordeaux 2017 vintage Chateau Margaux

For Bordeaux 2017 the en-primeur sales, 9-12 April, show an avalanche of excellent ratings regarding the main Bordeaux chateaux. But after a serious decrease in production because of the frost last year, the 2017 harvest is requested at lower prices by the great négociants who buy wines from the harvest from wineries to put them on the market in 3 or more years time.

I have just been to Bordeaux and I have seen the vineyards just pruned. The vines that were damaged by the frost were well evident and I am sure that they will produce scarce grapes in 2018 too. A situation that worries greatly the wineries where the cellars contain less barriques than usual.

At Millésima, where I went to present my wines that have just been inserted in their portfolio, I met the CEO Fabrice Bernard. He is one of the BIG buyers at the en-primeur auctions because Millésima is famous worldwide for having in its catalogue bottles from the greatest Bordeaux chateaux, that have been held in only two cellars:

Millésima-Bordeaux-prestigious wine store

the one of origin and his. Bernard’s words have a certain value in the market and he declared to Wine Searcher “I’m expecting prices to come down by 20 to 25 percent” .

The decrease in price reflects the French system of handling the petite vendange – the less perfect vintages. They decrease the price while we, in Brunello, decrease the quantity. In Tuscany we increase the production of Rosso di Montalcino and leave only the best to the flagship wine. The result is a greater fluctuation in volumes of Brunello but a better consistency in the price and maybe even in the quality.

17 May 2018

in Vines and wines

by Donatella

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Cenerentola Doc Orcia, a wine with a crown

2016 old style harvest that excites wines lovers and puts a crown on the Cenerentola DOC Orcia label

A vintage this 2016 to be framed: depth, complexity, and finesse, and longevity, characteristics that only a slow ripening of the grapes can give to a wine.

The Sangiovese, main variety used in Cenerentola DOC Orcia (together with Foglia Tonda), produces grapes that are meteoropathic, so can go mad and ruin if the climate is adverse. Its skin is made up of few layers of cells so it needs the help of the sun to express itself at its best. For this reason in the high hills of Southern Toscana, where the climate is dry but cool, Sangiovese has its ideal habitat and reached levels of excellence impossible elsewhere in the world.

Foglia-tonda-donatella-cinelli-colombini-225x300

There were surprises regarding the harvest date too: the vines had sprouted a good 15 days earlier than usual, and everyone, including us, thought that the harvest would have been precocious one. On the contrary already when the veraison happened (changing of the colour of the grapes from green to blue) the calendar of the vegetation cycle was already aligned with the traditional one, then the ripening proceeded regularly and slowly. In 2016 for the first time in a long time, the clusters reached the time of harvest at a snail’s pace with a mass of sugar in the berries growing slower than the poliphenolic ripening, that of the noble substances in the skins. In 2016 the first semester of the year was very rainy, the soil was hydrated in depth creating reserves for the hot months, but also disturbing the flowering to such a point that the number and dimensions of the clusters was drastically reduced. Then a topsy-turvy summer arrived. With hot days –over 35°c- alternated by storms of great violence, and the wine producers have been really scared that the hail would arrive. Those who like us were saved from the calamity, have had one of the best harvest man can remember.

14 May 2018

in Farm experiences

by Donatella

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The life of a wine producer: Donatella and her time

Donatella’s race with time, wine producer, wine blogger, president of various associations with an ambition to enjoy the wonderful territory where she lives

Donatella- University- of Pisa-teaching -wine-tourism

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Fattoria del Colle – Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne, Montalcino

The worst day is Monday, and the most frenetic periods are those before and after trips abroad. Very long days with one interruption after another.

The arrival of internet has worsened the situation multiplying contacts and making holidays practically eclipse. I receive around 80 emails a day and I send off about 30. I have a very small portable computer that goes everywhere with me a, so I reply to the post even when I am away and have one wine tasting after the other and one appointment after the other. In fact when I am on the other side of the world some people seek my attention like a child pining for its mother and they write to me constantly, and in the end I reply quite curtly. After I am sorry and it takes me days to get the rapport back to normal, but I hate it when people deprive me of time when I want to think , sleep, and do things….. making me feel trapped.

Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini-Malta

This is how my holidays on my beloved isle of Gozo get reduced to three hours a day, because there is a problem, that to be solved from there takes lots of time. It is practically impossible because in the countryside there is no tradition in making appointments. Cellar staff, grape pickers, sales and tourism staff all come into my office and demand immediate attention, especially my lovely husband and volcanic daughter Violante.

27 April 2018

in Forum: News and lifestyle

by Donatella

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Wine for dogs, with some ethical doubts

Wine, beer, tea for cats and dogs. Drinks for animals are on the up, rigorously without alcohol. For those who want to drink in the company of their pets

Wine for dogs

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, agriturismo pet friendly, Fattoria del Colle

As all pet lovers know cats and dogs cannot drink alcohol, if they do there are great risks for their health. However they adore biscuits, snack etc that pet shops sell in small extremely expensive packets. So, I making the most of the fact that pet owners go mad and buy whatever is liked by their pests the American company Apollo Peak has created a section called Pet Beverage with white , red and sparkling wines. The products have fun names such as mosCato charDOGnay …and include also special tasting glasses for our four legged friends.

Wine-for-dogs-Apollo-Peak

What is most incredible is the success, products that someone like me dog lover and wine producer, would never ever buy. This is what their message more or less says: you come home tired and you want a cuddle and glass of wine, why not share this pleasure with your cat? Ok, only that the so called wine for cats and dogs made with fruit juices and organic aromatic herbs (among which cat grass), contained in an 8 oz bottle, costs around 10 dollars. Sometimes more than the wine in the owner’s glass.

19 April 2018

in Not only wine...

by Donatella

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My red lion (Leone Rosso) that has been roaring for 400 years

Leone Rosso Doc Orcia a wine that gives pleasure and tells the story of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s heretic ancestors who built Fattoria del Colle

Leone-Rosso-2015-Fattoria-del-Colle

The rampant lion is engraved at the entrances at Fattoria del Colle , on the ceilings, and on the majolica blazons it is an evident presence and symbol of the long history of this place. It is the emblem of the Socini, or Soccini family, Donatella ancestors who built Fattoria del Colle in 1592. The Socini was a Sienese family of jurists and thinkers, that were rich and prestigious until, Lelio (1525-1562) and Fausto (1539-1604) Socino became important characters in the protestant reform and most of all very much opponents of the dogma of trinity. Still today their names are written in every book on philosophy, but by the church they were considered heretics and so they were forced to escape abroad and brought their family to ruin. In 1919 Donatella’s great-grandfather Livio Socini bought Fattoria del Colle back, quite by chance. Donatella got the estate fro her dad Fausto Cinelli in 1998 and has dedicated to the Socini family the wine she has produced there, “Leone Rosso” DOC Orcia.

THE DOC ORCIA WINE REGION

Fattoria-del-Colle-villa-ceiling

The appellation ORCIA was born in the year 2000 in Southern Tuscany, in a vast hilly region that reaches as far as the Crete Senesi going towards Monte Amiata. An area that includes 12 villages, where once the spring frosts damaged the vines one year out of three, and consequently discouraging wine production. Since the beginning of climate changes these frosts have practically disappeared, the last one was in 1997, while the cool climate with practically cold summer nights helps the production of high quality grapes because the ripening is generally slow and regular while the acidic content of the grapes and of the wines is a particular characteristic of the DOC Orcia appellation and a guarantee of longevity.

12 April 2018

in Farm experiences

by Donatella

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Toscana Lovers has opened in Cortona, Vi aspettiamo!

The third Toscana Lovers store opens in the most American of the small Tuscan cities of art: Cortona. Here we propose exclusive and refined handicraft

Toscana Lovers Cortona

Cortona is the town in Under the Tuscan Sun written by Frances Mayes. Cortona is of Etruscan and Renaissance origin, a city full of elegant shops and with a surrounding countryside full of villas and farm transformed into luxury homes for rich US millionaires.

Toscana Lovers Cortona is in front of the steps of the Palazzo Comunale and proposes the best Tuscan handicraft just like the two previous shops: one in Piazza Indipendenza in Siena, round the corner form the square where the Palio race is held and another in Bagno Vignoni only existent medieval spa. In Cortona too the products on sale come from the workshops of laboratories of real artists where modern creativity blends with traditional manual labour. An assortment created by Carlo Gardini

Toscana Lovers Cortona

and his wife Donatella Cinelli Colombini through the years, visiting artisans who can interprets the modern trends. No souvenirs no old style objects, only fragments of the real Tuscany, exclusive objects, sometimes unique, to be used, to ware, or to be gifted.

For example the knives sold in Toscana Lovers Cortona are from Scarperia. Scarperia is one of the places with the oldest and most prestigious production of “cutting blades”; table knives with horn handles, but also knives for collectors that last for centuries, and like jewels, get passed from generation to generation, becoming always more valuable just like small masterpieces destined for the antique market.

5 April 2018

in Vines and wines

by Donatella

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Cenerentola’s gown of light

A wine story that resembles a fairy tale: Doc Orcia Cenerentola wears a gown of light, goes to the ball and becomes a princess.

Cenerentola-DOC-Orcia

CENERENTOLA’S STORY BECOMES A WINE

Once upon a time there was a nice young girl called Cenerentola (Cinderella). The prince invites her sisters to the party, but she stays at home until a fairy visits her bringing her a wonderful gown….Once upon a time there was a wine appellation called DOC Orcia. She had two sisters, older and more famous than her, Brunello and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano that are on the left and the right. She too would like to go to balls, where her sisters’ bottles go, and so the fairy, represented by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, dresses our DOC Orcia Cenerentola with a gown made of light and sends her to the party. This really does seem like a fairy tale with a happy ending. The Magnum bottles are dressed with a spectacular lamp in Tuscan style.

THE TRUE STORY OF CENERENTOLA DOC ORCIA

The young and feisty Doc Orcia was born on February 14th 2000. In the area of Trequanda (SI) where the Fattoria del Colle was built in 1592 by the ancestors of Donatella Cinelli Colombini, the present owner.

Donatella believes in this appellation, so much so that she is the president of this Consortium. She also believes in autochthonous varieties with the features of their old identity that give a unique stamp to wines from a specific territory. This is why she recovered the old Sienese variety Foglia Tonda with its distinctive features, abandoned for almost a century, and experimented on the best ways of cultivating it, containing its natural tendency to produce too many clusters. A long study, with a few setbacks and many trials with the help of Professor Cesare Intrieri of the University of Bologna and with the fervent support of Valérie Lavigne at of the University of Bordeaux.

Lamp-Cenerentola

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Blog

News from Casato Prime Donne and Fattoria del Colle, territory, comments on the world of wine, events and wine personalities

Cristina Cippitelli will be our first Master Sommelier

Grape harvest and racking between Brunello, Orcia and Chianti

Do we need many different wine glasses,or is one sole glass best?

Wine and bell peppers, a spicy union

Lighting for summer dinners at Fattoria del Colle

Archi, a villa for parties

The 10 best jobs in wine

The most expensive whiskey in the world

Bordeaux 2017 vintage, limited but good

Cenerentola Doc Orcia, a wine with a crown

The life of a wine producer: Donatella and her time

Wine for dogs, with some ethical doubts

My red lion (Leone Rosso) that has been roaring for 400 years

Toscana Lovers has opened in Cortona, Vi aspettiamo!

Cenerentola’s gown of light

CENERENTOLA’S STORY BECOMES A WINE

THE TRUE STORY OF CENERENTOLA DOC ORCIA

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