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The Prime Donne at the NY Wine Experience: a dream come true

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Brunello flies to the NY Wine Experience, the famous tasting of the 250 top wines selected by Wine Spectator for their prestige and quality

Brunello-riserva-2010-NY-Wine-Experience

It’s 18 years old, the young company of Donatella Cinelli Colombini (it was born in 1998) is of age now and it has received the most desired invitation of all, the debutantes’ ball of wine cellars.

The invitation to the Wine Experience, the tasting organized in New York by the prestigious American magazine Wine Spectator. A selection of the 278 best wines in the world selected for thier prestige and quality.

A tasting so exclusive that attracts winelovers from all over because here they are certain to find the best of the best and a lot of new products. The ticket costs 2.495$ and it has a limited number, and the tickets are purchased online until the fully booked. For Donatella Cinelli Colombini there has been another gift: hers is one of the 4

New-York-Wine-Experience-2015

Brunello chosen to be part of the seminar. She will be speaking in front of 1.000 people, telling the story of a country house in ruins that becomes the first Italian winery with a staff of all women; and the story of the Ardita vineyard, a small piece of land about 2 hectars, that produces extraordinary grapes with an extraordinary qualitative continuity in the different vintages. A magical place for the cultivation of Sangiovese.

The Chianti Superiore in the TOP year of Organic

Chianti Superiore DOCG 2014 is old style for Donatella Cinelli Colombini: who appreciates a more traditional and easy to drink Chianti will love it!

Chianti Superiore DOCG – Fattoria del Colle, Trequanda

2014 has been the year of the Organic, and those like us who have chosen this method to cultivate their vineyards, have brought to the winery grapes that were sound and especially apt to produce young wines. 86 days of rain, from April to October and an almost Nordic climate, have favoured the synthesis of perfumes in the grapes and the production of “old style” wines, elegant and easy to drink like those of thirty years ago.
The Chianti Superiore Docg 2014 is a wine with a typical Tuscan imprint, with tannins that are evident but well balanced by the fruit and a remarkable pleasantness that makes it easy to match with any dish: from the chianina ox tagliata to Indian or Chinese dishes.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini‘s Chianti Superiore is produced in Fattoria del Colle at 404 meters of altitude, on top of high hills that surround the Crete Senesi area. The vineyards are on ridges, in a position that is ventilated and well exposed to the sun; they have 5.500 vines per hectare that produce only a little over one kilo of grapes each one. Few grapes and a lot of manual work – both during the cultivation and harvest – they give us an excellent result. Vinification and ageing are carried out in the winery and cellar of Fattoria del Colle that is placed right among the vineyards.

Drago e le 8 Colombe IGT Toscana 2013

The story of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Supertuscan dedicated to a man in the all women winery

Drago e le 8 Colombe IGT Toscana 2013

The wine “Il Drago e le 8 Colombe” has a strange name because it has a curious beginning. It is produced in Donatella Cinelli Colombini‘s wineries, where the staff are all women, represented by the 8 doves on the label: Donatella, her daughter Violante who together with Debora takes care of wine sales, Alessia who is in charge of the incoming, Barbara the cellar master with her helpers Antonella and Margherita, and last but not least Valérie Lavigne the wine maker. A formidable team flanked by the men and women grape growers but also by Donatella’s husband Carlo Gardini, who has created a range of sweet wines for this winery. He is the dragon in the label to emphasize a male presence in an all female winery, which is feminine not feminist. Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is a “Supertuscan” a Tuscan wine not covered by a DOC regime. To begin with this type of wine included those of modern style and high quality. It was created in the 1970’s as a reaction to the rules of the appellations that limited the possibility of experimenting. Practically a rebellion against tradition, and this was sustained by the press and by America consumers. Later the Supertuscan became IGT Toscana appellation, and in some cases (such as Sassicaia) they become DOC. Il Drago e le 8 Colombe is an IGT Supertuscan produced at Fattoria del Colle.

Medals in competitions, too many and some for counterfeit wines

English wine competition reward up to 70% of wines with medals while the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles carries out tests to catch those who falsify bottles

The Italian jurt at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

A very interesting article by Wine News underlines the excessive number of medals of the English wine contests. According to OIV there should be less than 33% whereas the various contests by  “Decanter” awarded medals to 70% of the participants   and <<“The Drinks Business”, regardless of a jury made up practically of only Masters of Wine, actually awarded in one go medals to 90% of the Champagnes>> state ironically Wine News. A situation that could be connected to the price to be paid for every one of the 16.000 bottles in the first of the competitions mentioned and that was put into evidence by “La Revue du Vin de France”.

Medals from the International wine competitions -International-wine-challenge

The  “Vinalies Internationales” seem to be much more rigorous, they give medals to 29,8% of the 3.500 competitors and the  Concours mondial de Bruxelles gives recognition to  28,2% out of  8.000.

Although the advantages go quite rightly to the sole winners of these competitions every medal, if well used, with commercial actions and with vip clients, can give an increase in wine price between  10-15% and an increase in winery reputation.

Passito 2014 a sweet masterpiece

In Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s all female staffed wineries, the only man around is Carlo, lover of sweet wines and of this Passito

Carlo with the TRaminer grapes for passito

Producing passito is an annual ritual that captivates Donatella Cinelli Colombini and most of all her husband Carlo Gardini. A maniacal attention that is possible only because very few bottles are made and because Carlo Gardini and the cellar master Barbara Magnani  have unlimited passion for sweet wines. Their efforts have been rewarded with 93/100 for the 2013 production by Wine Advocate.

2014 was in fact the “organic” year, for those, like us at Fattoria del Colle, grow vines without the use of chemical products brought grapes home healthy and ripe. The At the beginning of September the pink clusters of Traminer grapes from the Sanchimento vineyard, surrounding the Chapel at Fattoria del Colle , were picked by hand, and chosen one by one. The cluster were then put into baskets to dry naturally.

WINE SPECTATOR WINE ADVOCATE

This is the most laborious phase in the production because the cellar master Barbara Magnani  must move the grapes continuously according to the weather, if it rains for example. In 2014 the summer was rainy and cool, but at the beginning of September the sun came out and there were only three showers during the whole month. The good weather lasted all of October  while the baskets with the Traminer grapes continued being moved around to find every single ray of sunshine.

A great Rosé from a fantastic harvest

Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents her Rosa di Tetto 2015 which was born from a 5 stars harvest

Donatella Cinelli Colombini Rosa di Tetto 2015

The 2015 harvest has without doubt been a fantastic one. 5 stars and with the ambition to be remembered among one of the best of the century.

The rainfalls that preceded the harvest in 2015 had two effects, the first negative and the second positive. The blooming was disturbed by the bad weather and this reduced the production of grapes, so the vintage resulted in being scarce. On the other hand the water trapped in the soil helped the vines resist the very hot month of July, in so creating the conditions for a gradual ripening of the grapes. The cool august completed the job and the difference in day and night temperatures favoured the synthesis of the aromas. The result is an excellent rosé.

Orcia, the most tourist attracting wine region in Italy

In the wonderful land of DOC Orcia wine, the most beautiful wine in the world, 65% of the wineries have a restaurant or a country inn

Orcia Doc, Fattoria del Colle

The territory where the Orcia wine is born, south of Siena, is between the Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano wine regions, and is considered the most beautiful wine district in the world. Part of it is a Unesco world heritage site and it contains 13 municipalities, all rich in art and history, as well as thermal spa centres such as Bagno Vignoni, Bagni San Filippo, San Casciano dei Bagni and Chianciano Terme.

So the Orcia DOC wines come from a paradise like landscape that attracts tourists from all over the world. For this reason the Consorzio del vino Orcia has wanted to verify how many of its wineries are open to tourism. The result is extraordinary  65% of the wineries has a country inn or restaurant  <<In other words Orcia is the most touristic wine region in Italy>> said Donatella Cinelli Colombini president of the Consorzio.

Orcia Cenerentola with Roasted duck breast

The 13 municipalities of the wine region receive every year more than 1 million tourists and about the same excursionists, those who visit daily.  Also many foreign tourists own a second home in this area. Tourism is a strong source of finance in this area. This economy is intertwined with wine because the wine and food offer is perceived as an important component of the cultural exponent. In other words wine tasting, like a tour to an abbey, enriches the visitors with emotions and knowledge and is enjoyed with the same amount of interest.

Winery hotel, where the cellar is

In Stockholm the first hotel with barrels in the reception, it is called Winery Hotel and proposes weekends with wine just like a real winery

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Brunello, Casato Prime Donne

Wine tourism success can be measured also with the increase of wineries everywhere, such as the Winery Hotel. Last year saw the revelation of the  “urban winery” with grapes arriving in crates in the middle of London and wine lovers paying to take part in the choosing of the grapes. Then the vineyard on a skyscraper in New York and a few months ago we saw the images of the domestic winery with wine making apparatus in the lounge. So competition is always stronger for the real wineries.

The last novelty is the Winery Hotel in Stockholm <<Sweden’s first combined urban winery and boutique hotel. This is in fact in Sweden, a nation where the climate has been up until now too cold to cultivate vines and so there are no wineries. But maybe it is because of this that the proposal of a winery hotel, where you can see the production process of wine and then taste it, can result in being incredibly attractive. In fact the invitation is << follow the freshly-picked grapes’ journey from barrel to bottle>> …  and finishes with the sentence: increase your wine knowledge.

Vinitaly IOsonoDONATELLA come and take a selfie in my place

Donatella Cinelli Colombini is hunting for a lookalike to photograph and propose on Instagram with the #iosonodonatella hashtag

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Vinitaly stand (Hall 6 stand D4) becomes a photographic studio with a silhouette that playfully resembles her. The invitation is for friends, wine lover and buyers, to come and take a selfie or a photo in her place << #iosonodonatella and so are you!>> and to immediately post the image on Instagram, this is what the Signora del Brunello proposes.

Valerio Marini Donatella at Vinitaly 2016

In this occasion we open the Vinitaly doors also to those who stay at home, as anyone can join us in this game with the Donatella name and the prestigious Brunello 2010 IOsonoDONATELLA <<the best wine I ever made>>.

#iosonodonatella come and take a selfie instead of me

For the first time it is actually at Vinitaly <<we have made only 600 bottles and it sold out in 15 days that is why there was no time to organize tastings and presentations>> explains Cinelli Colombini proud of this rare and precious wine: on the bottle stands here crest in gold leaf, inside a shiny ring hat recalls her student studies on medieval jewellery. So at Vinitaly there will be a unique opportunity to taste Brunello IOsonoDONATELLA and even to take her place, at least for a moment.