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

A fantastic 5 star Brunello Riserva 2007

Exalting of the typicity of the Sangiovese and of Montalcino, an effect of the climatic changes, new vineyards who have reached their production maturity for a great Brunello Riserva 2007

Brunello_2007_riserva

Brunello_2007_riserva

The Brunello wine becomes Riserva when at its best, for this reason Donatella Cinelli Colombini just like all the other producers in Montalcino, takes care of it more than any other wine, in the vineyard and in the cellar.

This Brunello Riserva shows in a more evident way than the three previous vintages the change in style of the Casato Prime Donne winery, whose goal is to exalt the typical elements of Sangiovese from Montalcino: a graceful and austere elegance that only on the Montalcino hill reach levels of absolute excellence. Such results are possible thanks also to the climatic changes which favour Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards, situated in a cool area of Montalcino, where the soil is rich in clay and consequently able to capture rainfall and release it during the hotter months. The new vineyard Ardita, planted in 2001, has finally reached its productive maturity and expresses very high levels of excellence. That is the vineyard that supplies us with the grapes for this extraordinary Brunello Riserva.

Donatella awarded by the Inner Wheel Club Firenze Iris

Even those who have received many prizes like “Lady Brunello” Donatella Cinelli Colombini, when they are awarded the Inner Wheel di Firenze Iris show great emotion.

Donatella_Inner_Woman_2012_with_the_award

Donatella_Inner_Woman_2012_with_the_award

Past winners of this award are prestigious women: women of culture like Dacia Maraini and Ilaria Occhini, the doctor Maria Luisa Brandi, the film maker Cinzia T.H. Torrini and the scientist Margherita Hack.

This is consequently an important prize given by the President Gianna Baudo Bacchi in the splendid frame of the Villa Viviani in Settignano, a short distance from the Casa di Boccaccio where Donatella has her Florentine and where, in the 14th century the author of the Decamerone lived.

The award solemnizes the Inner Day, the International celebration day for this association, which the Club Firenze Iris celebrates with particular solemnity. The award goes to a woman who chosen among the candidates proposed by the Tuscan Inner Wheel members. Donatella Cinelli Colombini received her nomination form the Siena Club and from two excellent sponsors, the President Lucia Galleni Fornaciari and the Past president Cecilia Cateni Mittica.

Robert Parker leaves Wine Advocate. Changes are coming, but which ones?

On December 9th we get news of the putting on sale of Wine Advocate and now we hear that the new owners are among the major distributors of luxury wines in Asia

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Robert-Parker-at-Ultimate-Parker-in-Asia-2010-Singapore (1)

Robert-Parker-at-Ultimate-Parker-in-Asia-2010-Singapore (1)

Since 1978 the bimonthly magazine belonging to Robert Parker Jr has been a cult for lovers of great wines all over the world. This magazine owns its fame and its enormous influence to its absolutely independent character. Printing in two colours, no publicity, absolutely impartial ratings, and great competence in the tastings …. In other words Wine Advocate deserved respect at the first glance.

Everybody expected a rotation and that Robert Parker Jr would have left his creation in the hands of the super expert taster Antonio Galloni. Everything made one think that through the succession there would have been continuity, but now this rotation seems to revolutionize the bases of the famous lawyer’s newsletter.

The new owners are from Singapore and they will put in charge of Wine Advocate Ms. Lisa Perrotti Brown transforming the paper newsletter -which will continue at least for all of 2013- into a digital bulletin.  Wine Advocate will accept advertisements even though not those advertising wineries.

Autochthonous yeasts from hornets in our Brunello

Native yeasts are trendy and more frequently they are used to protect the typicality of a wine, just as Donatella Cinelli Colombini has done

But is it as marketing ploy or is it really an identifying element?

Tinaia-del-vento

Tinaia-del-vento

We believe that they really are an identifying element. At Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino we use native yeast chosen in 2008.  It is not a contradiction. It is a practice which is scientifically flawless  (carried out for us by the Oliver Ogar laboratories): it is in fact possible to isolate strains present in a spontaneous fermentation to then reproduce them in the laboratory and use them for production. We have tried three of them and one of them has given extraordinary results. In the logic of increasing the Exchange between Vineyard and insects we built the  vinification area called Tinaia del Vento – where we vinify the Brunello in truncated-cone shaped vats, open on top. The results have been excellent.

Outline of US wine consumers and wine lovers

The Boomers buy 44% of wine but it’s the younger Millennials who buy the most expensive bottles. Contemplation on how to dialogue with the US consumer

Millennials_Us generation

Millennials_Us generation

It’s the generation born after the Second World War, in full economic expansion (1945-1964) who guides the wine consumption in USA. A 30% portion of wine shopping goes to the Generation X who gradually will substitute the previous target a sit gets older. The Millennials, in other words the consumers born in the 80’s , who are now between twenty and thirty year of age buy a little less than 13% of wine just like the over sixty’s.

This sub-division come from Rob McMillan, founder of the Silicon Valley Bank’s Premium Wine division and has been well commented by WineNews. To this one must add the detail of the type of wines consumed. When Rob McMillan declares that the Millennials are not yet a resource for the wine industry he refers in fact more to the commodity segment than to the premium wines or ultra premium wines like Brunello or Barolo.

Christmas cake: the biscuits called cavallucci of Siena

These are Christmas cakes with an aniseed aroma and when they are just made they are deliciously soft and when they get hard loved by grandmas and hated by kids

Cavallucci_Christmas cake of Siena

Cavallucci_Christmas cake of Siena

All Sienese remember the cavallucci cakes being kept for months in glass jars until they became hard as rocks and where usually offered by grandmas for the afternoon snack. A nightmare which in the end kept this delicious cake from Christmas tables. The secret was to make few of them and eat them straight away. They are extraordinarily delicious, especially if matched with ricotta or whipped cream but please don’t keep them for months in glass jars!
Here below you find the recipe belonging to Patrizia Cenni patisseur at Fattoria del Colle, who every morning serves guests wonderful home baked cakes according to local tradition.

Read the recipe below!

Rating of the most powerful women in wine in the world

No Italians among the top 10 chosen by the magazine “The Drinks Business”. On the podium Gina Gallo, Jancis Robinson and Annette Alvarez Peters

 Gina Gallo with her husband Boisset

Gina Gallo with her husband Boisset

Gina Gallo, the heir and technical director of the Gallo winery, is the most powerful woman in wine in the world. If the influence that comes from the billion bottles produced per year, then there is the husband, great French wine Jean-Charles Boisset. Together they make up one of the most formidable wine couples ever seen.
In second position of “The Drinks Business” list is Jancis Robinson the English Master of Wine. Tireless and with unquestioned authoritativeness Jancis has a column in the “Financial Times” and an intense activity on the web. Only on twitter she has 160.000 followers. Next step down on the podium we find Annette Alvarez Peters head buyer for Costco the major French quality wine importer in USA and fifth American retailer with a billion in purchases per year.
Following are Philippine de Rothschild from Chateaux Mouton, Lalou Bize-Leroy the great dame from Bourgogne, Danièle Ricard President of Pernod Ricard, the second company in the world for beverages.

Chianti and Tuscan wines’ redemption where exportation flies high

Chianti wine: 3.600 grape-growers, 15.000 hectares of vineyards, more than 100 million bottles and after years of being forgotten, finally the rebirth

Fattoria_del_Colle_vineyards panorama_november 2012

Fattoria_del_Colle_vineyards panorama_november 2012

In 24 months the export figure have gone from 40 to 70%, while the requests have picked up so much that the Consorzio del Chianti has considered anticipating the release of the new vintage in January rather than in March a sit was previously. The rebirth of the main Tuscan denomination has certainly benefitted from the positive atmosphere created by the events abroad organized by the Consorzio with Giovanni Busi as president. A true novelty for the Chianti wine, which is now organizing a road show of enormous proportions: China Japan and then the USA, Russia, Switzerland … Important steps along a path that still seems lengthy; in supermarkets in China sales start at 1,70€ per bottle while the cost on tap goes from 70 to 90 € per hectolitre. In the end, even if the bottles produced are more than 100 million, the total business is of only around 300 million Euro.

Read the article below!

Christmas cake: recipe for panforte Margherita of Siena

The Sienese traditional Christmas cake is panforte in the sexy version called “panpepato” and in the version created for the Queen Margherita and I’ll give you the recipe

Panforte Margherita by Fattoria del Colle

Panforte-Margherita-by-Fattoria-Del-Colle

Many many years ago in Siena they used to say that the panforte “panpepato” << united families >> because of its aphrodisiacal virtues that made the critical moments in marriages something of the past. True or untrue this characteristic of the panforte also caused some high level problems. It seems in fact that when Queen Margherita di Savoia came to visit the Palio city, her visit was anticipated by an inspection by her chamberlain who also had the job of choosing the dishes for the “royal palate”. When he came to learn about the aphrodisiac virtues of the panpepato he immediately excluded it from the menu and the Sienese population, most contrite when they heard that their most famous and delicious cake was being disdained, decided to make a version more “chaste” version” that was christened panforte Margherita in honour of the queen.

At Fattoria del Colle the panforte is prepared by the pateisseur and served straight away during the Christmas holidays and most of all during the New Years Eve dinner.

Read the recipe below!

Ricciarelli: the recipe for the typical Christmas cakes from Siena

The home made freshly baked ricciarello is the nicest cake in the world. It has a taste of Tuscany, of Christmas, of local traditions and affection

Nothing at all to do with the commercial ones!

Advice for gluttons from Donatella Cinelli Colombini

 Ricciarelli and Vin Santo_Fattoria del Colle

Ricciarelli and Vin Santo_Fattoria del Colle

THE LEGEND

Traditional, easy and fragrant, it helps you rediscover the pleasure of almond paste. The ricciarello is the Sienese Christmas cake and since 2010 it is a product protected with the IGP certification. A traditional delicacy from as far back as man can remember. It seems that the oldest recipe is a document in a convent in Buonconvento  20 km from Fattoria del Colle. Its name has a legendary source and come s from the Crociato Ricciardetto della Gherardesca who it seems brought the recipe from theMiddle East.

However the word ricciarello appears only in the 19th century so centuries and centuries after the crusades. Most surely the use of almond paste came about in the houses of the rich Sienese bankers from the southern part of the Mediterranean, prior to the 15th century, because from that era one was served  “marzapani alla costuma senese” or “morzelletti” probably prepared in convents.

The most appropriate wine for this very Sienese delicacy is the Vin Santo, the most traditional dessert wine in Tuscany. Want some proof? As soon as it will be possible again come to Fattoria del Colle and you will find both!

Read the recipe below!

A villa in Tuscany for your holidays in the countryside

To experience Cinderella’s dream, Fattoria del Colle – country inn in Tuscany – presents its villa

Fattoria del Colle - San Clemente - living room

Fattoria del Colle - San Clemente - living room

Cenerentola (Cinderella) is the name of an old stone farmhouse on a hill surrounded by vineyards and looking over the spectacular panoramas of the Crete Senesi and of the Val d’ Orcia. The lodging is on the first floor and is divided into two apartments united by a small lodge: San Clemente and Sanchimento can be used divided or together if require by a large group. In total there are five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two sitting rooms with cooking area and a large fireplace.

Italy overtakes France in the wine production

Less vineyards, wine and consumption the world over: Federico Castellucci Managing Director of OIV presents the 2012 news

Violante with the Opus One magnum

Violante with the Opus One magnum

Let’s begin from the vineyard: the reduction of surface regards most of all Europe and will continue to do so also in the future although the economic incentive, distributed during the past 3 years for those who abandon vineyards definitively are finished. A decrease in part compensated by the increase in vineyards in the southern hemisphere and in the USA.

The contraction of the world vineyards has had a back-fall on wine production, which has although decreased also because of the effect of climatic changes, and mostly in Europe.
The 2012 word production of wine should settle between 243 and 252 million hectolitres.
Italy goes down to 40 million Hl (-3%), worse still (-19%) is the French decrease, this bring the production of the other side of the Alps under the Italian volume.

Italian extra virgin olive oil from Trequanda is a super-oil

The Trequanda area, where Fattoria del Colle is found, has always been renowned for its exceptional extra-virgin olive oil and the 2012 produce is very good

 Olives 2012 Fattoria Del Colle

Olives 2012 Fattoria Del Colle

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The quality of the oil depends 50% from the soil and microclimate of the olive grove, a mix of permanent elements such as ex position to the sun and some variable elements such as amount of rainfall and temperatures. Connected to the production area is also the presence of the malevolent oleic fly, who lays its eggs inside the olives in so ruining the quality, or obligating the farmers to use pesticides. Trequanda does not have this problem; its olives are sound by nature because the fly does not arrive as far as this region 404 metres above sea level 25% of the quality of the oil come s from the “cultivar” (variety of the olive trees) and from the cultivation, in other words choices made by the farmers. It is very important when and how the olives are picked, and that they be transported to the mill the same day that they are picked without being squashed.

                                                                       
Cinelli Colombini
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