Farm experiences

News from the cellar at Fattoria del Colle

About 2000 antique bottles of Brunello, Cenerentola Doc Orcia and IGT “Il Drago e le 8 Colombe” enrich the cellar at Fattoria del Colle

Fattoria del Colle – room for Il Drago e le 8 Colombe

Year after year we put aside 100 bottles of our most important wines before completely finishing the vintage. A tradition which has created a small treasure in wine. Contrary to the Tuscan tradition I do not keep Vin Santo, because I do not like sweet wines and so I do not feel the need of keeping them in a sort of “historic archive”. Maybe it’s wrong but my heart beats faster for great reds.

The bottles of Brunello since 1993 are kept in the hermitage at Fattoria del Colle, a square room with vaulted ceiling which is found under the historic cellar. It resembles a bank caveau and is shut with a gate and padlock. The Casato Prime Donne award celebration bottles are kept in a small cell which was once used as a stable for the donkey.

Clara Melchiorre, born to be a photographer

Clara Melchiorre Photography

Here is the story of a fashion reporter who is set to conquest of the world: Clara Melchiorre only 19 years old and incredibly talented

She is Pugliese from, Bari, she is 19 years old and has been living in Milan for a few months, she is currently attending the IED, the best photography school in Italy. She began her photography career by taking photos of her cousin who was dressing up in her mother’s clothes, she managed to have these first shots published in ‘Sette’ in the publication Corriere della Sera, on ‘Vogue’s’ website and in ‘Velvet’.

But for Clara, a student at the Classical High School in Bari, this was not enough. She persuaded her architect father and then totally convinced her mother (who is a therapist for autistic children), that she should not go on to study a conventional course at university but instead follow her vocation as a photographer. Bibiana and Massimiliano Melchiorre were unhappy about their separation from their daughter but they let her leave for Milan, and the obvious talents of their daughter have blown away any possible doubts as to the wisdom of this decision.

A concert by Gerret Lebuhn at Fattoria del Colle

On Tuesday June the 5th at 9 pm the clever German guitarist Gerret Lebuhn will play pieces by Bellinati, Brouwer, Paco de Lucia, Riqueni and Dufour. Free entry   [caption id="attachment_6750" align="alignleft" width="120" caption="Gerret Lebuhn"][/caption] A great present for those who love music and the Tuscan countryside. Gerret Lebhun is a classic guitar virtuoso and he is in love with our land, where every year he brings a small group of his students for a summer school among the vines. His concert is consequently an appointment not to be missed for the beauty of its frame – the sixteenth-century Fattoria del Colle in...

Acqua cotta dei logaioli, a spring time soup

A recipe that not everyone knows, traditional, easy and refreshing. It brings to the table the tastes of Montalcino and is well matched with the Doc Orcia and Chianti wines.

Agriturismo in Toscana - Fattoria del Colle- acqua cotta dei logaioli

The name comes from the small farms on the Montalcino hill, called “loghi” or “logaioli”. These were small holdings that permitted the survival of one family tank also to the presence of a source of water which enabled the inhabitants to irrigate their vegetable patch. The logaioli (inhabitants of the loghi) walked to the village with a basket full of celery, zucchini, parsley, carrots and eggs… and sole them under the old Town hall in the lodges. Up until 40 year ago they were there every day. Today they sell at the Friday market, in the “filiera corta” short supply chain stalls.

Cantine aperte – Wine day at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino 20 wines for tasting

Cantine aperte 2012 - Brunello and other wines from Donatella Cinelli Colombini wineries

Twenty years have passed since the first edition of “Cantine aperte” and Donatella Cinelli Colombini continues personally welcoming guests and offering them something exceptional, out of the ordinary compared to what they can taste the rest of the year.

Donatella is practically a mother of this event. She organized the first edition of Cantine aperte on the 9th of May1993 in100 Tuscan wineries and during the next few years she transformed it into a National event with more than 1000 wineries and nearly a million tourists taking part. Today the president of this association is Chiara Lungarotti, a great friend of Donatella’s and someone with whom she still collaborates.

Celebration for Shiseido’s 140 years

An experience of aromas, great wines, and traditional food at Fattoria del Colle following Gloria and Violante on a sensorial trail [caption id="attachment_6683" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Shiseido - Féminité du bois - Fattoria del Colle -Gloria and Violante"][/caption] Saturday May12th. A double birthday: 140 years of Shiseido and 40 years of the Profumeria Nella in Sinalunga, a myth for the women in southern Tuscany. The party, organized by Gloria, owner of the perfume shop and by Violante young export manager for Donatella Cinelli Colombini, is a mixture of transgression, sophistication and tradition. The guests were taken along a multisensory itinerary which began in the...

Susanna and Cristina ceramists in Chianti

These are the novelty at Toscana Lovers, the shop where you find the best handicraft in the heart of Siena: tiles and bowls entirely hand made   [caption id="attachment_6657" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Siena - Toscana Lovers - tiles by Ceramiche"][/caption] These are a couple of ceramist artists, who at the beginning of 2012 have opened a workshop in a small hamlet in Chianti near Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. The name is simple: Ceramiche and everything is done by hand, just like in medieval times refusing even to use the electric lathe. Tiles , bowls, glasses...

My dog Felix walks on water

Let me introduce you to, the Golden Retriever at Fattoria del Colle. His true name is Valerio, but after a query posted on the web he was re-named Felix

Fattoria del Colle –entrance to the swimming pool park

Someone says that it is a name for cats, for cartoon characters, but in truth the name comes from the Latin word felix, which means lucky, and he really is a lucky and happy dog. He was born on the 24th September 2010 at the Antica Etruria kennel in Asciano and now weighs more than 40 kg. He is practically a fair-haired giant. His is sociable and welcomes all guests upon their arrival at Fattoria del Colle.

San Clemente a dream house

Paola and Paolo, the “creative team” at Fattoria del Colle transform the San Clemente apartment into a romantic love net, it’s comfortable, young but with a sensation of a “Tuscan grandma”

Fattoria del Colle - San Clemente - living room

San Clemente is at the top of the hill behind Fattoria del Colle slightly above the swimming pools and the tennis court. It is surrounded by Sangiovese vineyards and olive groves, in the distance the Val d’Orcia and Crete Senesi hills as far as Montalcino and Siena. The silence is practically noisy, and there is a sensation as if one is in a film regarding Tuscany so beautiful is the panorama.

Toscana –beginning of the extraordinary spring panoramas

[caption id="attachment_6599" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Val d'Orcia - view from San Giovanni d'Asso-April 20th 2012"][/caption] With the rain the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi are now of different colours, green, yellow, red…. an extraordinary show which we invite you to come and see with us The photographs included were taken yesterday along the road near San Giovanni d’Asso 10 km from Fattoria del Colle. This is the time to begin the Photography safari’s on the look out for beauty and harmony that are expressed, only in Tuscany, in [caption id="attachment_6598" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Val d'Orcia - panorama da SanGiovanni D'Asso - 20 Aprile 2012"][/caption] those...

May 1st at Fattoria del Colle

Spring for senses:

art, great wines and traditional tastes

wisteria flowers on the italian garden - Fattoria del Colle

We advise you to come to spend the May 1st Bank holiday weekend at Fattoria del Colle, in Tuscany where Crete Senesi and the Val d’Orcia. You will taste wines made here and at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino, you will taste typical local dishes such as Pinci and the mixed grill with meat from the Valdichiana. The nearby small art cities will offer you pleasant surprises: Pienza ,renaissance city wanted by Pope Pio II, who for a bridge transforms the main square into an Italian style garden, and Montepulciano with its May 1st fair and the celebrations of the patron saint Sant’Agnese.