MONTALCINO’S TRIPE WITH SAFFRON
SAFFRON, AN EXOTIC AND PRECIOUS SPICE, GROWS SPONTANEOUSLY IN MONTALCINO, IT GROWS ON THE EMBANKMENTS , AND IS USED TO COOK TRIPE...
SAFFRON, AN EXOTIC AND PRECIOUS SPICE, GROWS SPONTANEOUSLY IN MONTALCINO, IT GROWS ON THE EMBANKMENTS , AND IS USED TO COOK TRIPE...
THE HISTORY OF THE ROOM CREATED AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE, FOR THE ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS OF THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY PIETRO LEOPOLDO WITH HIS LOVER ISABELLA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SLEEP IN IT?
Agriturismo in Tuscany Fattoria del Colle Grand Duke’s bedroom
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard von Habsburg-Lothringen was born in Vienna in 1847 and became Grand Duke of Tuscany at the age of eighteen in 1865. He left my region in 1890 to become Emperor of Austria and died in Vienna two years later. Her sister Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France guillotined during the revolution and another sister, Maria Carolina, reigned in Naples.
His wife Maria Luisa of Bourbon was the daughter of the King of Spain and bore him 16 children, creating a family that, in the eyes of the Austrians, was too boisterous and disorderly.
Friends of Donatella’s Club will be among the first in the world to taste Brunello 2018 and the Prime Donne 2018 selection from the Casato Prime Donne winery
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This offer is for those who want to start the new year as every great wine lover dreams. The 2018 vintage crowns the talent of Tuscan winemakers. A vintage that is very reminiscent of those of our grandparents and that gave us a Brunello that is modern, elegant and very rich in perfumes. These are the first BIO Brunellos by Donatella Cinelli Colombini.
BIO is a certification that aims to protect the environment and consumers, and which only allows the use of a little sulphur and copper in the vineyards. The grass is managed only with hoeing and the fertilizer is exclusively stable manure. The vines are taken care of manually and we no longer tie the vines with plastic to prevent this from creating pollution.
Brunello Prime Donne is part of a project for the enhancement of female talent in the oenological field. A panel of 4 very expert female tasters blind taste the future Brunello in all phases of its life: as soon as it is born, in the barrel, in blending. They are the Masters of Wine, Rosemary George and Madeleine Stenwreth, the wine expert Astrid Schwarz and the sommelier Daniela Scrobogna.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini will taste these 2 splendid wines together with those who ordered them online. The date and link of the connection will be communicated as soon as the wine has arrived to all customers. In the connection Donatella will explain the wines and tell how they were born, together with some amusing anecdotes.
Women, followers and themed hotels. These are the gifts that wine tourism can give to Italian wineries and which can greatly increase the business
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For the second time I have been invited to the Divinea Wine Tech Symposium this year in Milan in mid-November. My contribution focused on what wine tourism can give to Italian wine and here I explain the 3 “gifts” of wine hospitality to the wine business.
The wine incoming has contributed to the growth of interest in wine among the fairer sex. In reality it is not a new thing, 80% of the world’s wine is bought by women and these above all are bottles for daily consumption. 55% of habitual Italian wine consumers are women. But the recent novelty is the leading role that ladies are also assuming in the premium and super premium segment, a circumstance that also derives from the growth in the female percentage among the visitors to the cellars.
Benvenuto Brunello becomes Brunello Day with events in Montalcino, London, Toronto, New York and Los Angeles and AgrieTour in Arezzo rewards Donatella
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An intense autumn for Tuscan wines with Benvenuto Brunello which extends from 11 to 21 November and has its key day on the 17th when the preview of the new 2018 vintage will take place simultaneously in five cities around the world, namely London, Toronto, New York , Los Angeles and Montalcino. Don’t be surprised if I say that Montalcino is a city. It has had this title since the mid-fifteenth century (1462) and was confirmed just a few months ago with a decree by the President of the Republic.
The Benvenuto Brunello calendar marks the tasting of the new 2018 vintage by dividing the days for operators, press, wine lovers and even for the producers of Montalcino who will be able to taste the wines by their colleagues and in so drawing food for thought. The gala dinner was prepared by chef Valeria Piccini from the two Michelin-star “Da Caino” restaurant in Montemerano who studied the menu based on local products and especially white truffles.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s first BIO Brunello. Eight years of waiting: the first three in conversion and then the harvest and the long journey of the wine in the cellar, up to the bottle
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A great Brunello born in an “old-style” harvest.
The BIO rules do not allow the use of systemic chemicals and in 2018, a very rainy year, the winemakers of Casato Prime Donne had to work hard and very promptly to defend the vines from powdery mildew and downy mildew, but they succeeded.
An “old-fashioned” vintage with a cold and rainy summer, very slow ripening and harvest on the normal dates of late September.
Very rainy winter and spring (16 rainy days in January, 16 in February, 20 in March, 11 in April and 18 in May). Summer alternated with peaks of heat and thunderstorms. In September, the sunny days and cold nights allowed a slow and gradual ripening of the grapes with a progressive decrease in the size of the berries and an excellent synthesis of aromas.
Brunello 2017 and Spumante Rosé 2018 Metodo Classico, two high quality “family wines”, in a limited edition to add prestige to Christmas gifts and lunches
Brunello-di-Montalcino-2017-Spumante-Brut-Rosé-2018-Metodo-Classico
These are “family wines” that is, bottles obtained from grapes, hand-picked, vinified and aged in the cellar by the same producer. Rare wines, which wine lovers can only find in wine bars and restaurants but which have an international success.
Brunello with its velvety royalty transforms a lunch into a memorable event and should be accompanied by important meat dishes or aged cheeses.
Spumante Brut Rosé is a masterpiece wine produced with artisan care in only 1433 bottles and is suitable for appetizers, light soups, fish and other delicate dishes. It is the wine for toasts and brings fresh elegance to happy moments.
For the upcoming holidays we are proposing:
3 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2017
3 bottles of Spumante Brut Rosé Metodo Classico 2018
2 single shopperswith logo to use as gifts
After the summer months spent with fresh and light wines, the time has come to move on to more full-bodied nectars. Brunello Riserva 2016 is the perfect wine for Thanksgiving holidays!
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This wine is suitable for long aging and celebrations of the coming years. The best food pairings are cheeses (aged Tuscan pecorino, spicy gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano) and with dishes of international cuisine, always based on meat or with structured sauces.
Sensational territorial combinations can be Pici with Sausage and Mushroom sauce, Wild Boar Scottiglia with Polenta, Duck Breast in Brunello sauce. But why not also try the combination of the Riserva with a Goulash, or with the Thanksgiving Turkey with Gravy or with a Canadian Tourtière.
6 bottles of 0,75lt of Brunello di MontalcinoRiserva 2016
Plus
1 volume “Cantine a fumetti” bilingual publication by Scuola Internazionale di Comics.
Exceptionally for the members of the Donatella Club, Rosso di Montalcino 2020, a fresh wine for the summer: young, light and lively, with silky tannins that conquer all tables, even those on the beach.
Rosso-di-Montalcino-DOC-2020
Enough with the nicknames “Baby Brunello” and “Brunello’s younger brother”. Rosso di Montalcino is a contemporary wine, with its own identity and which is much loved by consumers. The first to believe in the potential of this denomination are the producers who belong to the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino and who have dedicated a “Red Montalcino” Trendy and cool event to this wine. In Montalcino there are 510 hectares of Rosso against the 2,100 of Brunello, illustrating a singular situation in the Italian wine scene where TOP wines usually have the tip of the production pyramid. So here is the trendiest and coolest wine of Montalcino, the one that excites young wine lovers.
6 bottles 0.75lt of Rosso di Montalcino 2020 BIO
3 Magnum bottles 1,5lt of Rosso di Montalcino 2020 BIO
Elena Testi, Aldo Fiordelli and Chiara Beghelli win the Casato Prime Donne 2022 Award which restarts transforming itself into an incubator for young local talents
Aldo-Fiordelli-Corriere-Fiorentino-Casato-Prime-Donne-2022-Award’s winner
After two years of Covid stop, the Casato Prime Donne Award returns with the awarding ceremony that will take place on Saturday 17 September in Montalcino and proposes a very topical female character: the young journalist sent to the front line, Elena Testi. Together with her, two journalists who contributed to the divulging of Montalcino and its wines: Chiara Beghelli for the podcast in “Il Sole 24 Ore” and Aldo Fiordelli for numerous pieces published in the “Corriere Fiorentino”.
Chiara-Beghelli-Il-Sole-24-Ore-Casato-Prime-Donne-2022-Award’s winner
Over the years the Casato Prime Donne Award, funded by the Montalcino winery of the same name, and the first in Italy to have an entirely female staff, has contributed to the affirmation of the new role and new contribution of women to society and the world of work. In the past it has been awarded to personalities of science such as the virologist Ilaria Capua or the astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, sportswomen like the soccer player Sara Gama, exponents of culture and champions of human rights.
Many wineries are committed to sustainability but few are capable of communicating it because they make ethical choices out of conviction and not out of marketing
Sustainability in wine : more real but less communicated – Fattoria del Colle – Tuscany
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
The situation is reversed but resembles that of Giulio Cesare’s wife, Pompea when her lover, Claudius, entered their home during the celebrations in honour of the goddess Bona. In the divorce process Cesare made no mention of the fact and when asked for a reason he replied that his wife should not even be touched by the suspicion.
Which meant that it was not enough that she was honest but she also had to appear honest.
As regards to sustainability in wine, the reverse is true. As WineNews rightly titled << Sustainability in wine in Italy: many do it, fewer communicate it well >>.
It’s a game but up to a certain point: the vine, the vineyard, the grape, the rooted vine are feminine nouns in Italian but the word vino (wine) is male like most of the appellations
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Vigneto Glera-per-il-Prosecco
Today 55% of regular Italian wine consumers are women. The fairer sex is the majority among those who book visits to wineries …. but wine has a masculine connotation because, for 8,000 years it has been produced and drunk by men.
Daniele Cernilli- Doctor Wine with the cultured irony that distinguishes him starts from this point for a semi-serious but very intriguing reasoning << Grammar sometimes plays bad jokes. We are used to thinking of wine as something masculine, “the” Barolo, “the” Brunello, “the” Taurasi, but there are vines and wines declined in the feminine and who knows this might also coincide with their characteristics … >>
The “gender” examination of the appellations, for me, starts from the decidedly female Doc Orcia because << the most beautiful wine in the world >> is born on hills with sinuous profiles. These are the sexiest and most similar views to a woman’s body that Tuscany and perhaps Italy possesses.
As an exception, for the members of the Donatella Club, two fresh wines for the summer: ideal for lunches and dinners in the garden, for aperitifs and for parties next to the pool with friends.
Now that we really want to participate in convivial events, also considering that in summer we prefer to be outdoors, these are two wines to keep close at hand!
Sanchimento-IGT-Toscana-Bianco-2021-and-Chianti-Superiore-2019
The Sanchimento IGT Bianco Toscano, which has always been considered very versatile, is a wonderful match for savoury snacks and meals based on delicate dishes such as vegetable soups, fish, shellfish, white meats, vegetables and fresh cheeses.
While for the Chianti Superiore DOCG, a red wine, the approach to consumption changes. Even the Chianti Consortium suggests lowering the temperature in order to fully enjoy its pleasantness, freshness of perfumes and aromas in summer.
6 bottles of Sanchimento IGT Toscana 2021
6 bottles of Chianti Superiore DOCG 2019
1 corkscrew from our winery
1 recipe book from Fattoria del Colle
A category invented by the young sommelier Vincenzo Donatiello in 2018 which includes wines for the swimming pool: fresh, immediate and pleasant but never trivial
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by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Wine experts snub them by branding them as thirst quenchers without real quality but actually they exist all over the world. The French call them vins de soif that is wines for thirst, in English they take the name of poolwine which corresponds to the swimming pool wines proposed by the Lucanian sommelier Vincenzo Donatiello.
It was this thirty-year-old professional who proposed them for the first time in Italy in 2018. Vincenzo was the maître of the Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba until February 2022, with the starred chef Enrico Crippa.
“Old vineyard makes good wine” says the proverb but only by following three main rules: replace failures, maintain the structure, renew the cordon
Old-vineyards-qualities-and-defects
by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
“The old vines do not make grapes” say many producers and so they uproot it. But it is a mistake. By doing so, they will never produce excellent wines and there is also a way to keep them well. The more the years pass, the more failures increase and the more problems arise related to viruses, damage caused by cultivation tools or neglect in maintaining structures, or errors in soil management. This is especially true for those who use chemicals that reduce the vitality of the earth or heavy tools that compact the soil and asphyxiate the roots. Practices that push the root system of the vines upwards also have similar effects, making them vulnerable to water stress.