Farm experiences

Bank holiday, April 25th with the Orcia Wine Festival 2017

At Fattoria del Colle three days -from 22nd to 25th April- dedicated to “old waters and new wines” in an intense and long weekend of wellness and fine wines

Bank-holiday-in-agriturismo-Fattoria-del-Colle

25^th of April Bank holiday: join the activities of the Orcia Wine Festival in San Quirico d’Orcia (wine tastings, dinners, spa and massages, trekking, music videos….) to those proposed in the Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino and in Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and you will have a spectacular program, something unrepeatable and full of emotions, suggestions, and with an unbeatable regenerating effect.

To know and get to know the secrets regarding fine wines is fun…come and see!

Fattoria del Colle is a small hamlet surrounding a villa and a chapel from the 16th century. An authentic location where most of the furniture, in the rooms and apartments is antique. Restaurant, wellness area,

wellness-and-wine-toasting -in-the-jacuzzi-at-Fattoria-del-Colle

parks, winery cookery school and trekking trails are a frame for the experiences dedicated to food , local cuisine (brief lessons and themed dinners), to the tastings organized so as to create sensations, such as the itinerant wine tasting, and the game, Playing winemaker where everyone produced the Supertuscan wine of their dreams.

I Montalcino, in the Casato Prime Donne there will be another surprise: a tour of the winery with a Wine and music itinerant tasting created by Igor Vazzaz the sommelier musician and in the new fermentation hall the showing of the video “The dove’s flight”. The programme of the wine tastings for the bank holiday included also a guided tasting of 5 vintages of Brunello, from the just born vintage 2016 to the great Riserva.

In theme with the title “Old waters and modern wines” the wellness area at Fattoria del Colle proposes a bath in the Jacuzzi with panoramic view, with a glass of wine, vinotherapy in the special juniper tub and massages that make the most of the rejuvenating virtues of grapes.

Easter in agriturismo with family and dogs

Easter in agriturismo with family and dogs

Spring in the heart and in nature, Easter is the first bank holiday to spend enjoying family, food and fine wines

Easter-agriturismo-in-Tuscany-Fattoria-del-Colle-spring-Felix-in the-swimming pool-park.

Where better than in Tuscany, in the most beautiful countryside in the world? A land where the harmony of immense panoramas has a beneficial effect and is in fact called  “landscape therapy”, where there are places of great spirituality such as the Monte Oliveto Maggiore Abbey (12 km) and Assisi that is an hour away.

To these places that sanctify the Easter there is an addition of fun proposals for gluttons connected to the Brunello and Orcia Doc wineries belonging to Donatella Cinelli Colombini, themed dinners and a cookery lesson also apt for kids, guided tours and wellness.

There is time for the sacred and profane in a large and traditional place like Fattoria del Colle. A place that has in authenticity its major attraction. To stay in one of the farmhouses,now for agriturismo,  transformed into rooms, apartments or villas, where part of the furniture is antique, gives the sensation of living in a home that once belonged to our Tuscan grandparents. The freedom felt is due to the large open spaces that are uncontaminated (the vines are organically grown) where you can sit out in the sun, and allow the kids and dogs to run around, is just what is needed to get over the city stress.

Easter-Fattoria-del-Colle – Agriturismo-Tuscany

Tradition and authenticity at all levels: the housewives teach adults and kids how to make pinci, the typical Sienese handmade pasta. The tour of Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino takes place with an itinerant tasting that combines music and fine wines, history and modern folklore. A mixture that can charm event the most expert of wine lovers and amuse the children. The Brunello tasted has received International prizes but our way of telling you about them is fascinating like a novel.

Felix , a golden retriever looking for friends

Felix is his name but he really is happy, at Fattoria del Colle he welcomes guests. He loves other dogs and children; he is greedy and loves cuddles and playing

Felix-goldenRetriever-FattoriaDelColle

Donatella Cinelli Colombini, agriturismo, Fattoria del Colle restaurant

It is wonderful when the Japanese tourists arrive with their uncertain English asking  <<where is Felix?>>. Felix, the golden retriever at Fattoria del Colle is just so famous. All of the visitors photograph him, cuddle him, and send messages. He is a celebrity.

Visitors’ dogs are well accepted at Fattoria del Colle also because Felix adores them. He loves playing and he literally allows them to jump up on him. The only problem is with those on a lead, but as soon as they are set free they begin having fun together.

Felix-with-CinelliColombini-family

During the season he disappears for whole days with his new friends and returns so tired he practically is sleeping on his feet. There are then those dogs he likes so much that he cannot be without, Felix sits out of their apartment where the family is staying and bark up until they open the door.

Felix  is a golden retriever born on November 24th 2010 in the Antica Etruria di Asciano kennel where he was named Valerio, name also on his pedigree together with those of his parents, grandparents, and their titles won in Italian and foreign competitions. He arrived at Fattoria del Colle when he was two months old straight after the death of my beloved collie Black. I used to cry while driving and couldn’t sleep at night and I was able to get over the nostalgia for my previous dog only thanks to the arrival of the yellow puppy. When he was small he was soft and fluffy but also smelly, as he had the habit of stinky flatulence, where everyone had to race away.

Massages and wine tastings: novelties for a weekend away

Tuscany, Brunello tastings, Chianti and Orcia. Massages and bathing in the Jacuzzi with panorama, candlelit dinners with historical dishes [caption id="attachment_11923" align="alignleft" width="300"] wellness-massages-and-fine-wines-Fattoria-del-Colle-Toscana[/caption] A new proposal for a weekend dedicated to wellness and fine wines at Fattoria del Colle. Massages and wine tastings: are you looking for a romantic weekend with pleasant regenerating things to do? Here is a proposal created for you: away from traffic, in contact with nature, fine wines and old traditions, with a wellness area for your exclusive use …. You can set off from home in jean and little else because you will always be in relaxing...

New Year's Eve in a country inn with a Brunello experience

Wine experiences, especially with Brunello, that are fun and enrich your knowledge, these together with the traditional food make a holiday memorable

New Year’s Eve dinner at Fattoria del Colle

At Fattoria del Colle stays over the New Year period are dedicated to couples, groups of friends and families, even the extended ones with cats and dogs. Every day there are at least two activities to enter into the fascinating world of great wines and Tuscan in harmony with the countryside and the estate, going back in time.

Three day stays (two nights) where great wines will be protagonists of the wine lover’s experiences: itinerant tastings with music and history, Brunello vertical tastings, winery tours, tasting dinners and even the possibility of making your own Supertuscan wine. The kids can play panforte and also learn how to make it. Those who adore wellness can discover the pleasure of drinking a glass of wine whilst soaking in the Jacuzzi or in the juniper tub while enjoying vinotherapy, wine can reach your skin even through massages.

Agriturismo Villa Archi New Year’s Eve

The country inn stay is full of extraordinary experiences that are also fun, with a rich program of events particularly enjoyable for “Brunello lovers”, those who admire this great wine from Montalcino, or who hope to become estimators. For these guests we have three real treats and a particular surprise.

Toscana Lovers the boutiques for artistic handicraft

From “Toscana lovers” in Siena and in Bagno Vignoni your shopping becomes a treasure hunt rich in traditional and artistically handmade surprises [caption id="attachment_11667" align="alignleft" width="203"] toscana-lovers-tuscan-handcrafts-boutique[/caption] These typical local objects of Tuscan handicraft and life style are created with a certain dexterity that renews tradition. With our usual courtesy and competence we will help you discover the typical character and the history of Tuscan and Italian handicraft. An old story, refined and full of creative characters. If you want to take home some of Tuscany take it from the hand of our artisans and look for something exclusive that cannot be found...

In Casato Prime Donne winery Turchi's dove flies

In the new vats room of Casato Prime Donne flies the dove by the painter Roberto Turchi, wine expert, innkeeper, interior designer and 100% “montalcinese

Roberto Turchi “The Dove’s Flight”

Every year the fist Italian winery with an all female staff celebrates the winner of the Casato Prime Donne Award with an art piece. Sculptures, photographs, and also intangible artistic installations come to life in the winery and among Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards, who since this year is also the president of the Award and of Donne del Vino association.
Roberto Turchi work of art “The Dove’s Flight” is a performance of digital images that transforms the new vats room in an art space (with the collaboration of Giuseppe Sanfilippo, Tommaso di Ronato, MCM Service)
The 2016 winner Chaimaa Fatihi, peace activist, has written a dedication that has been placed at the entrance of the vat room <<To all the women in the world, who know how to be strong and never give up in the face of fears, prejudices, hatred and violence>>. Inside, among the new bare concrete vats, just arrived from France, flies Roberto Turchi’s dove, a symbol of peace but also of the Award and of the cellar that finances it. “The Dove’s Flight” the flight of the dove that is the protagonist of the painted history that a sophisticated technological system projects on the conical vats,

New vats room in Casato Prime Donne winery

wine-making gems surmounted by steel fullers.
Roberto Turchi painter, wine expert, innkeeper, interior designer of an absolute and visceral identity of Montalcino territory created something dynamic and engaging that, for 3 minutes, takes visitors into the world where painted and real images, colors and sounds, emotions, and lightness mix together. An experience of Montalcino that no one had ever done before. Extremely intense colours juxtaposed, Turchi’s distinctive strokes of a very personal and contemporary poetic which nevertheless sink its roots in Sassetta and Sano di Pietro Sienese XIV century. The Montalcino images break down into a cubist and at times metaphysical game and later becoming a tale with a remarkable evocative strength.

Urban Trekking for All Saints’ weekend, do it in Tuscany

Step after step discover the beauty in and around you: urban trekking in Siena and Asciano, sleeping at Fattoria del Colle October 28^th to November 1st

Raffaello?-Asciano-Sant’Ippolito-Urban -Trekking–2016-

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

We will be waiting for you in the most beautiful countryside in Tuscany for this long bank holiday weekend. Urban trekking in Siena and Asciano  is an experience that you will adore: there are so many incredible surprises for you, such as the first work by Raffaello. At Fattoria del Colle there is a program (on our web site with prices) including tastings, visit, brief cookery lessons, and dinners that you will not find anywhere else

URBAN TREKKING

I created urban trekking in 2002 when I was tourist advisor for Siena and now there are walking trails in every city of art and even urban trekking shoes-

Brunello_fermentation-room-Casato -Prime Donne-All-Saint’s- weekend

This is a success because it coincides with thy ways people prefer travelling now: no longer in the great masses and those roads where there are only stores for tourists, they prefer to be in contact with those who live in an area. It is the same trend as choosing to sleep I private homes rather than hotels. In other words I anticipated times!

The National urban trekking day 2016 is October 31st, the eve before all saints day. Among the 51 participating cities I have chosen the two closest (Asciano e Siena) to Fattoria del Colle to invite you to come for a walk with me, maybe using my country inn as a base.

Urban trekking is a healthy type of tourism because it tones the muscles and regenerates the mind by letting you discover places and stories that otherwise would remain hidden; our cities are real open air museums and the urban trekking reveals the art work like in a treasure hunt. Everybody can participate, of any age, becoming explorers, and this time there are really many discoveries.

White Truffle with Red Wine: yes right, Brunello with truffles

Weekend with the White Truffle from the Crete Senesi at Fattoria del Colle for a very intense and tasty wine and truffle experience

Truffles and Orcia wine Cenerentola

4-6 / 11-13 / 18-20 November with the white truffle in Tuscany in the Crete Senesi area, a truffle region of very high level. Fattoria del Colle organizes weekends that include for you white truffles and the great red wines Brunello and Orcia DOC. During the same period in San Giovanni d’Asso (15 km away) there is a white truffle from the Crete Senesi fair. So plenty of shopping and hunting for the precious truffle in one of the 5 truffle preserves at Fattoria del Colle, themed dinners with truffle recipes, and even a brief lesson regarding the fungus. To make these weekends unforgettable there will also be some splendid wine tastings. And here are our two treats for this programme, that can give sensations and information to real gourmands and to the less expert, these are experiences in the Brunello winery, Casato Prime Donne: the wine and music tasting created by the musician and sommelier Igor Vazzaz with 4 wines and 4 different pieces of music and the brand new fermentation area for the Brunello wine where a flying dove helps visitor enter into the true Montalcino spirit with images and sounds. A beautiful surprise.

The detailed program in on the web site.

Brunello-wineryCasato-Prime-Donne-Montalcino

3 day –two nights  € 214 per person. It is possible to book briefer stays through the reception +39 0577 662108

WHY WHTE TRUFFLE AND RED WINE

Last year I was nominated Cavaliere Onorario dell’Ordine del Tartufo e dei vini di Alba. During the ceremony I asked the Gran Maestro Bianca Vetrino << what do you drink with your truffles?>>  and she replied convinced << red wine>>. This reply made me think … matching white ruffles from the Crete Senesi with Brunello and Doc Orcia works just as well as the pairings in Piedmont in fact it must be studied.. maybe through a weekend full of excellent delicacies. Our white truffle is “honeyed” exquisitely refined; it has an intense aroma and is definitely intriguing (it is not a coincidence that it is aphrodisiacal) . It has become so acclaimed only recently, for this reason it is still quite affordable.

Wine tours, the winery, and strange questions

Tour after tour, year after year, the questions asked by visitors have been many, and some, sometimes …quite strange!

Wine tours at Casato Prime Donne, Montalcino

By Sara Mazzeschi – Fattoria del Colle

One of the fun aspects of my job at Fattoria del Colle is the time I spend with guests visiting the estate. Be it here or at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino it is really nice to show experts or wine lovers where we produce and age the Chianti, Doc Orcia and Brunello.

I have always thought that telling people what is “behind”  a bottle of wine, the challenges, the decisions and everything else that brings to a quality wine , to be the most important aspect of my job, that is why I am always happy to see the curious expressions of those following me and to hear their questions. It must be said though that there is no limit to what I have been asked,  every time I think that I have heard the best then a young bright lad or a professor lifts his glasses to look at me all the better… and I remain speechless.

Toscana Lovers 2 and Donatella Cinelli Colombini repeats

Toscana Lovers a boutique where you find the best artisan products opens a new store in Bagno Vignoni, the most exclusive spa centre in Italia

Toscana Lovers Stefania during preparation

It is in the heart of the most beautiful part of Tuscany, where one finds the only medieval spa centre that is still intact, in this minute hamlet near the war water pool where Santa Caterina and Lorenzo il Magnifico bathed: Bagno Vignoni. This is where  Donatella Cinelli Colombini is opening her second store ”Toscana Lovers” dedicated to the best Tuscan handicraft. After the success of her other Siena shop, just round the corner from Piazza del Campo where the Palio race is run, now a second boutique for handmade Tuscan objects.

Bagno Vignoni – Toscana Lovers shop

Her you find knives from Scarperia, the sharp blades famous since the 8th century and made by the master knife make. The Virginia pottery, with its shabby chic style and where every day utensils are reinvented. Then the chopping boards and the tureens made in olive wood loved by northern tourists where these trees can’t grow. Soap bars decorated with bronze stamps and perfuse with natural essences from Tuscany such as the iris, symbol of Florence. Scarves by Cecchi & Cecchi and many objects in resin that trap for ever leaves and flowers. Of course wines too – Brunello, Chianti and Orcia- from the family estates Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda.