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After street food, now its wine's turn to be served in the street

In USA the best wineries begin selling their wines on the street, and in Italy we have Caràvin that offers great wines by young wine makers

Caràvin

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

In Portland in Oregon, Ryan Harms (owner and winemaker of the Union Wine Co. Winery born in 2005,and producing at present 1.300.000 bottles has transformed a 1972 Citroën van into an itinerant chrome tasting room . He began his activity in June 2014 offering his Pinot Noir’s while they were being tasted also at the International Pinot Noir Conference. A serious provocation if there ever was one!

His plan was very simple << we are always on the lookout to find a way of introducing wine to the public…>>.

I find this approach extraordinary, and very modern and fun. In Italy it would be a real blow for a brand ….imagine Sassicaia being tasted in the street! Yet our boring old ways can change. And searching on the web find WineStreet from Asti who last September organized itinerant tastings. A very modern style, an audience of young wine lovers but the locations were actually buildings.

2 February 2015

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Which barrels are best for Brunello?

A story that tell of tastings, errors and successes whilst looking for the perfect barrel for the Brunello made at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino

Montalcino Casato Prime Donne barrel ageing cellar

Our grandparents used barrels that contained 10-15 hl sometimes even made of chestnut , then the larger barrels arrived, and later still the barriques, and now we have gone back to the small barrels.

I’m going to tell you about our search for the perfect barrel for the Sangiovese for Brunello and specifically for the first year of ageing in wood, when the wines evolution is quick and decisive for its long long life to come . In the second and mostly I the third year of ageing in fact we have always used the traditional large barrels 15 hl and then 40 hl, that softly accompany the Brunello towards the bottle.

We stated by looking for barriques. This was in 2001 and shortly barriques were a must for all producers who did not want to seem thrifty or old fashioned. We tried 7 brands, among which an Italian and an Austrian one. Now they are outside embellishing gardens

30 January 2015

More than 10 million tourists visit Italian wineries

As everyone knows data regarding wine tourism in Italy is uncertain but Wine Monitor by Nomisma makes us think that wine tourists might be double what we thought up until now

Castello della sala barrel ageing area

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

This research has been carried out by Denis Pantini from Nomisma and financed by the Consorzio vini del Trentino. This is what they say: 9% of foreign tourists and 4,7% of Italians travel thanks to a prevalently gastronomic interest. Out of caution, regarding especially the figures to follow, it must be said that Bankitalia indicates on the other hand in 730.000 (2012) so 1,5% of the total the foreign visitors attracted by wine and food. More similar to the Nomisma percentages are though those that come from the Osservatorio Nazionale del Turismo that however regard 2010.

Valpolicella wine store and restaurant

Going back to the percentages indicated by the research centre in Bologna these are the figures available: 16 million foreigners and 7,8 Italians considering all our compatriots, children included, as the wine and food tourism is made up mostly of “day trips”, (86% of the total according to WineNews) so a journey with a radius of less than 100 km from home.

This information seems to increase the number of visitors of Italian wineries. In if fact if it is true that the number of visitors for wine and food go to visit the “mysterious underground Bacchus locations” there is however a quota of them that visits more than one winery during the year.

27 January 2015

Brunello Prime Donne 2010: a dream come true

Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents her Brunello 2010 Prime Donne. It is produced only in exceptional years such as 2010: the best vintage in the last 100 years

Brunello 2010 Prime Donne Cinellicolombini

As all great red wines produced the world over Brunello is gratifying when young and when it is older. This characteristic is evident in the 2010 vintage more than any previous harvest.

Montalcino is one of the few places in the world where it is possible to produce a great wine with just one varietal, the Sangiovese. This is a magical rapport between nature, microclimate and the grape-growers that brings differing results every year and sometimes reaches perfection and that is what happened in 2010.

In 2010 the winter and the spring hydrated the soil in depth with rain and snow. For this reason the high temperatures in July did not create any problems for the vines that actually reached harvest time with the frond were still in Extremely rare situation but very favourable. In 2010 the grape clusters were small, sound, and with small grapes with lignified seeds

The Brunello Prime Donne is produced only in the best vintages. It is the estate flagship and represents its commitment in favour of equal opportunities for women in the wine world. It in fact is made in a winery staffed only by women and is selected by a group of four expert female tasters who decide in which barrels it is to be aged and the final assembling. These are the English Master of Wine Maureen Ashley, the Italo-American Pr Marina Thompson, the German wine store owner Astrid Schwarz and one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna.

25 January 2015

Giorgio Dalla Cia, an Italian wine man in South Africa

The Italian winemaker who has divulged wine to be cellared in South Africa. Giorgio Dalla Cia from Friuli to Meerlust

Giorgio Dalla Cia

Seen for you by Carlo Gardini
South Africa: wonderful beaches, incredible nature, and a simple lifestyle although full of incredible refined things… I remember a meal in a resort in the savannah, in a small restaurant that seats about 20 guests, furnished like a Victorian home. In front there is an artificial lake full of birds and wild geese which was lit by torches, in the background the Drakensberg mountains …. At the table we were served delicacies apt for a starred restaurant matched with exquisite wines ……..there is only one thought in my mind: when will I be able to come back?

My wife Donatella (Cinelli Colombini) and I began visiting South Africa 15 years ago, and for 6 years we went really often. We were so fascinated by this nation that we tried to create a wine project in the Cape region.

We visited practically all of the important wineries at that time, we met the owners and the winemakers, and we made friends, people with whom still today we are in contact regardless of the distance and the time passing. One of the first people we met was Giorgio Dalla Cia < if you go to South Africa and you love wine you must meet Giorgio > we were told. And so we met him. He is a wine maker from Azzano Veneto, expert in mushrooms and with a passion for archaeology and metal detectors. He is a traditionalist, perfectionists, and like all intelligent people he is unconventional and courageous.
Giorgio is always kind and smiles a lot, he dresses in an informal manner as the South Africans do, and he always has a hat with him. Simonetta his wife is a splendid cook organizes Italian cookery lessons and has divulged our cuisine in South Africa. Their home is like a Friuli house with garden and pool, transferred to Cape Town. Furniture, books lifestyle even the TV programs give one the impression of being in Italy.

22 January 2015

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

What are wine buyers looking for? Brunello!

The 2015 wish list for the International wine market includes Brunello 2010 and Bordeaux en primeur

Wine

Wine Searcher, the largest commercial wine showroom with bottles from 38,000 international stores, has interviewed some large fans of the wine market to find out which bottles they are hoping to get in the new year . Obviously the “en primeur” from Bordeaux hold a privileged position. These sales will take place in april and should re-launch this appellation , after the renewed interest shown by consumers in these bottles.

Zachys auction

But Brunello is also in the dreams of the great worldwide buyers such as Zachys. Its vice president Andrew McMurray actually says<<it is one of the best young Brunello I have ever tasted and I am expecting the critics’ indications before choosing which to buy>>. He is not alone in waiting for the now mythical 2010 vintage from Montalcino: Joss Fowler from Fine & Rare in London says<< the demand for the best Italian wines is always great and increasing, in particularly for Brunello>>.
There are several trends going on: the dispute between global and local, so among producers who stand out with excellent wines, but very particular, and the globalization of the market that ends up making everyone drink the same things.

20 January 2015

What a scandal! Prosecco on tap

In London they sell it as “Sparkling Italian wine” and it’s all the rage: Pizza Pilgrims in Soho, Tozi in Victoria and the Covent Garden restaurant

prosecco on tap

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

It all started just before Christmas when a pub in Leeds promoted via Facebook Prosecco on tap. This news was then picked up by the Daily Mail and got a hashtag on Twitter that was very successful #proseccoontap. At that point the Veneto producers our out for blood soliciting the intervention of the Ispettorato centrale della tutela della qualità e repressione frodi.

commonprosecco

In fact the European rulings impose the sale of Prosecco only in bottles. So the name of the wine was substituted and became “Sparkling Italian wine” but the type of wine has remained the same both in its aromas and in its taste. And the pub landlords use the “said and unsaid” to commercialize it as Prosecco even without specifically writing it.

18 January 2015

Acute sounds and sweet flavours, deep sounds and bitter flavours

15 January 2015

in Uncategorized

The most expensive wines in the world in 2014

500.000$ is the price paid for a bottle of wine. Richembourg is at the top of the priciest but the Italian front is lead by Sassicaia

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle 1992

The most expensive wine ever to be sold is a 6 litre bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle 1992 that was sold at a charity auction in 2000 at the astronomical price of 500.000 dollars.
If on the other hand we go and see the list of bottles normally on sale we find in prime position Richebourg Grand Cru Cote de Nuits produced by the late Henri Jayer the Pinot Noir Wizard. Jayer concentrated on the naturalness in producing extraordinary Burgundies with great concentration, small production to be remembered such as this one. The price of 15.887 Dollars is the highest declared by the stores on Wine Searcher. This portal is the most trustworthy source on an international level because here merge the lists of 47,000 wine stores from all over the world. If they say that the average price of a certain labels is the highest, we can be sure that that is so.

12 January 2015

in Farm experiences

Valentine’s Day with a couple’s massage and a nice wine bath

Eros and relax at Fattoria del Colle with its tub for couple wine bathing and a couple’s massage with extra virgin olive oil with its sensual virtues

Fattoria-del-Colle-vioteraphy and couple's massage

Not many know this and that is why it is worth trying it now: extra virgin olive oil has aphrodisiacal proprieties and is indicated as an essential emollient to unleash sexuality. The massage with oil, especially if done as a couple prepares the skin for caresses and stimulates the pleasure with its aroma which added to lavender or other natural essences acts as aromatherapy and helps seduction on its way.
Where better to have this experience than at Fattoria del Colle? In the heart of Tuscany, in the midst of olive groves and vineyards, where there is a small 16th century hamlet where one can stay, eat a candle- lit dinner and regenerate in the wellness area. An area where every detail is cared for, exclusive, equipped with sauna, Turkish baths, mini-pool with Jacuzzi, and an area for couples with a wooden tub where to soak in wine and couches for couple massages. The regenerating relaxing and rejuvenating virtues of the water, extra virgin olive oil and wine from Montalcino will make you Valentines’ Day unforgettable

11 January 2015

in Uncategorized

Women's wine according to Jancis Robinson

The most famous Master of Wine Jancis Robinson asks <<Do women and men have a different relationship with wine? >> and her answers leave you speachless

Jancis Robinson MW

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

You might be thinking about a woman’s magazine? No, the article appeared in the “Financial Times” the newspaper for bankers, the finance that matters and great entrepreneurs! And it is a milestone. I invite everyone to read it, especially the boys. <<when a man chooses a bottle to serve at home he asks himself – is it expensive enough for my boss/client/friend? A woman instead asks herself – will we enjoy drinking it together?>> It’s so true. It is a truth that is before everyone’s eyes, women are pragmatic. But it is the next part that really surprises <<women have superior tasting abilities to men, performing more precisely and consistently in experiments>> literally women are more capable than men in tasting, they are more careful/accurate and more experimenters.

10 January 2015

in Uncategorized

Markets what a passion! The best food markets in Europe

My list puts Boqueria in Barcelona at the top but the Markthal in Rotterdam is really the most innovative and sensational food temple in Europe

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Markthal in Rotterdam

A place where one can shop and have a cultural adventure. This post starts from the lost of the TOP 10 food markets in Europe published by the British daily The Guardian and then picked up by the super up-to-date blog la Cucina del Corriere della Sera. On the highest step of the podium one finds the Markthall in Rotterdam, a spectacular tunnel with a very coloured ceiling under which are stores, restaurants and food stalls. It is so big that in the tunnel walls homes have been created. A similar location is sensational in a port city that is not very attractive, because of a very serious lifestyle, the modern architecture which is beautiful but sometimes a bit extravagant, the humid climate …. Merkthall is a foodie temple, a spurt of life that might change the cities profile

In second position we find the Dalston market, famous for the street food festival in the cool area in London.

7 January 2015

in Uncategorized

Haut Brion – a 500 year story and a great wine

Famous stories and personal anecdotes regarding Haut Brion, the only Chateau out of Medoc to be Premier Cru Classé since 1855

Haut Brion wine

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
The recently found documents date the fame of the wine from the famous chateau as far back as 1521. It is true that in 1660 bottles of Haut Brion were already on Charles II King of England’s table and were considered very innovative “new French claret” because of a maceration technique which enabled the wine to age at length. A story full of great characters and frequent changes in ownership up until 1935 when Haut Brion was acquired by the American Dillon family that still owns it today. Not far from Bordeaux, it is on a flat piece of land of about 51 hectares covered in stones.
At first sight it doesn’t excite but then you taste it and fall in love with it!
My first memory of Haut Brion is very particular and slightly funny. Lets just go back a bit in time, to when I created my estate, in 1998, when I felt the need to learn, to get up to date on wine, ands so I took part for three consequent years in some full immersion courses, regarding red wines organized by ARSIA Toscana in the fabled Faculté d’OEnologie at the Université Segalen Bordeaux 2. The most

gala dinner celebrating 75 years of Dollon property

sought after lessons were those by Professor Yves Glorie the genius who had taught the world the importance of the poliphenolic ripening of the grapes. He had just recovered from an accident where he had broken several bones, and he would sit or stand in odd positions like a contortionist but so that he would suffer less. His direct and ironic way of expressing himself made those lessons so full of information easier to follow. As many other teachers of the faculty he too had as clients high level wineries, among which Haut Brion where we were able to see form the inside the magical world of a Premier Cru Classé.

2 January 2015