Forum: News and lifestyle

3-TIME COOKED CAULIFLOWER IN THE MONTALCINO MANNER

BOILED, FRIED, AND REDONE IN TOMATO SAUCE, A DELICACY FROM MONTALCINO’S GRANDMOTHERS. 3-TIME COOKED CAULIFLOWER IS FLAVOURFUL, INDIGESTIBLE AND EVEN DIETARY

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, wine destination, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

cavolo rifatto di Montalcino Fattoria del Colle Trequanda Donatella Cinelli Colombini

3-time cooked cauliflower can be served as an appetizer, a main course, or a side dish. In the Marche region, fried cauliflower is eaten without tomatoes and is delicious. The recipe I’m sharing is very tasty and can well enhance even banal dishes like roast beef or chicken breast. It harks back to grandmothers’ cooking, who, with humble ingredients, managed to create extraordinary flavours, warming the heart as well as the mouth.

This recipe also has another advantage: like all cabbage, it’s indigestible, so it fills for a long time and promotes weight loss.

It should be paired with the white wine used in cooking, so I recommend the IGT Toscana Sanchimento from Fattoria del Colle, a traminer with a hint of Grechetto, one-third of which is made following the Orange method.

2 September 2025

TRENDY TUSCAN CERAMICS

IN THE FLORENTINE AREA, FOR 600 YEARS, WATER, EARTH, AND FIRE HAVE BECOME ARTISTIC CERAMICS. NOT ANTIQUE DECORATIONS, BUT TRENDY AND TRADITIONAL SHAPES

Toscana Lovers, ceramiche per pinzimonio e olio EVO della Fattoria del Colle

Toscana Lovers ceramics cruet for EVO Oil from Fattoria del Colle

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda

“Among the villages of the Val di Pesa, Valdelsa, and Val di Virginio is the workshop where our ceramics are born, nestled among the vineyards and hills,” says Sara Petreni, welcoming us to the Toscana Lovers shop in Siena, in Piazza Indipendenza, just a few steps from Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run. “They are still made using the ancient techniques of the wheel, casting, and press, in a blend of styles. From country chic with dusty hues and shabby details to classic and contemporary. Hands that first draw and then shape the clay.” Sara shows the results of the ceramists’ patient work: bowls, plates, trays, jugs, cruets… the colours are typical of the Tuscan palette and landscapes. “Each shade is unique, created by the brush of a true artist who adds a touch of chiaroscuro, thus making the ceramic vibrate.”

The items for sale at Toscana Lovers appear to be of a new design, but instead they tell an ancient story.

26 August 2025

DARYA MAJIDI THE 4.0 WOMAN

DARYA MAJIDI, ITALIAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT FUND SINCE 2024, FOCUSES ON AI SKILLS TO COUNTER THE GENDER GAP

Darya Majidi Prime donna 2025 premiata a Montalcino

Darya Majidi Prima Donna 2025 awarded in Montalcino

The Casato Prime Donne Award 2025 is awarded to an extraordinary and visionary woman. An Italian-Iranian entrepreneur who has been fighting for years to increase the skills of women, especially young women, in artificial intelligence. Darya Majidi is the Woman 4.0 who believes in digital as a means to accelerate the path towards gender equality.

A few days ago Linkedin rated her among the 200 Top Voices in the world regarding AI. There are 4 Italians and Darya Majidi is the only woman. Fortune Italia listed her among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Italy and dedicated her to the cover of the October 2023 issue. In 2021, she was mentioned by D. di Repubblica as one of the 100 women who are changing the world, and in 2022, Io Donna by Corriere della Sera named her among the 10 women who are impacting Italy.

21 August 2025

Offer: two vintages, one passion for Rosso di Montalcino

Would you like this offer featuring two vintages of Rosso di Montalcino for €264.00 delivered directly to your home?

This offer focuses on Rosso di Montalcino, a wine appreciated for its fragrance and freshness! 10 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino from two vintages and two different sizes: the 2023 Rosso di Montalcino in a 0.750 Liter bottle and the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino in a 1.5 liter magnum (last bottles available).

🎁 together with the bottles you will find: a corkscrew with the logo of the Donatella Cinelli Colombini winery

New monthly offer with Rosso di Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

What’s special about this offer?

This is a special opportunity to receive two Rosso di Montalcino wines from different vintages, made with Sangiovese from the organic vineyards of Casato Prime Donne belonging to Donatella Cinelli Colombini. The two sizes allow you to choose the occasion for which to open them. An ideal wine for the last days of summer and autumn, for aperitifs, lunches, dinners, and parties. For events with a few close friends, or for a real celebration! Extraordinary: the white-label bottles allow you to personalize a gift for friends or family with a special dedication!

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Donatella Club Members

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023, 0.75 litres

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023 with customizable white label, 0.75 litres

2 Magnums of Rosso di Montalcino 2022, 1.5 litres

4 gift bags + 4 tissue papers + 4 package seals

1 personalized corkscrew

14 August 2025

EXTRAVIRGIN OLIVE OIL: TRUE AND IMPORTED

ONLY 28% OF THE EXTRA VIRGIN OIL SOLD IN ITALY IS PRODUCED IN OUR COUNTRY. OUT OF 900 THOUSAND TONS OF CONSUMPTION AND EXPORT OF EVO OIL, 600 THOUSAND ARE IMPORTED

Solo il 28% dell'extravergine consumato o esportato dall'Italia è veramente italiano

Only 28% of EVO oil consumed o exported from Italy is really Italian

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Casato Prime Donne

The data on EVO oil are impressive and reveal a bleak panorama. On one side, the Apulian olive groves destroyed by Xylella and the hilly ones abandoned due to lack of manpower. On the other side, a market unwilling to pay remunerative prices for Italian extra virgin olive oil made to the highest standards while the shop shelves are full of low-priced extra virgin olive oil from intensive olive groves in foreign countries.

The RTO Telematic Oil Registers show a stock of 190 thousand tons consisting of 71% EVO oil which is increasingly less Italian.

The Italian EVO oil production crisis does not seem to be stopping: plant diseases, adverse climate, abandonment of olive groves… the reasons are numerous but the results are devastating.

OUR NATIONAL PRODUCTION OF EVO OIL IS 28% OF WHAT WE NEED

Even the Italian olive harvest last autumn marked a drop of 90 thousand tons compared to the previous year. The production deficit is increasingly marked: we produce barely 240 thousand tons, that is 28% of what we need. Every year we need 850-900 thousand tons of which 550 for domestic consumption and 350 thousand tons for export. For this reason, agri-food industrialists source from Tunisia, Spain, Greece and other countries. Puglia in the South and Umbria in the Center are the nerve centres of storage.

7 August 2025

FROM TOSCANA LOVERS COFFEE BECOMES FLOWERED

A POP WAY OF USING MATERIALS, TOSCANA LOVERS’ RESIN COFFEE CUPS SHOW ARTISAN CREATIVITY AND BRING BEAUTY TO OUR HOMES

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

tazzine da caffè e altri oggetti in resina da Toscana Lovers

coffee cups and other resin objects from Toscana Lovers

Coffee cups are not glass, not ceramic, not crystal, not amber, and most importantly, not plastic! These are handmade resin objects, each one different, but all crafted with the creativity and craftsmanship typical of Tuscan master craftsmen.

Almost artists, highly creative and gifted with extraordinary manual skills… these artisans share the same mentality as those who, during the Renaissance, filled Florence with masterpieces. Therefore, taking home a unique piece made by them means owning an authentic piece of “Tuscan genius,” even if it doesn’t cost as much as a Benvenuto Cellini sugar bowl.

TOSCANA LOVERS RESIN COFFEE CUPS

Tuscan essences are playfully yet elegantly incorporated into resin. Ears of wheat, flowers, chili peppers, spices, citrus fruits… a nature magically “suspended” to become “eternal.” It’s precisely this playful transgression that makes these cups so pop. Extraordinary craftsmanship, creative thinking, and outstanding compositional skill, but also a sense of lightness, as if the cups were saying, “Use me every day because I’ll put joy in your coffee.”

“The combination of natural elements and a special resin creates objects where every colour and shade reflect natural cycles, and leaves, flowers, fruits, and shells become fossilized amber,” explains Ilaria Perilli from the Toscana Lovers store in Bagno Vignoni, showing off a wide range of resin trays, tureens, and bowls. “They are available in a variety of colours and shades to match each customer’s table, making their table setting unique and original.”

31 July 2025

PINZIMONIO WITH HUMMUS

A FRESH, HEALTHY, VERY PLEASANT TUSCAN-MIDDLE EASTERN MIX FULL OF MULTI-ETHNIC SUGGESTIONS: THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND TUSCAN PEASANT BREAKFASTS WITH ARAB SNACKS

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

A fresh, healthy, pleasant Tuscan-Middle Eastern mix full of multi-ethnic suggestions: the vegetable garden and Tuscan peasant breakfasts with the flavour of Arab snacks

To be honest, the idea is not mine, I tasted this delicious appetizer in Campiglia d’Orcia during “Bianco di sera” an event organized by Elena Salviucci, president of the Strada del Vino Orcia, in one of the most panoramic and beautiful spots in Tuscany.

This is a pinzimonio, a typical peasant snack made with celery, fennel, cucumber, carrot, to be eaten after having dipped them in extra virgin olive oil. The novelty is the addition of chickpea hummus that is placed in the pinzimonio cups together with the oil.

24 July 2025

POLPETTE AVVOLTE OR CABBAGE ROLLS

AN OLD AND TRADITIONAL DISH FROM THE TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE. NOT VERY CHOREOGRAPHIC, BUT VERY TASTY, IT NEEDS DECORATED TABLEWARE TO SHOW IT AS BEAUTIFUL AS WELL AS GOOD

In Montalcino, “pulpette avvolte” are the traditional sandwich for the “festa dei Bianchi”, namely of the Misericordia, the last Sunday in August. In reality, they are very tasty rolls, while the real polpette avvolte are a humble but tasty dish that is prepared in spring and autumn when the cabbages are ready in the garden.

It has the advantage of being able to be prepared the day before and heated up at the last moment, bringing an ancient and intense flavour to the table

INGREDIENTS OF TUSCAN WRAPPED MEATBALLS

Ingredients for cabbage rolls – Fattoria del Colle, Trequanda – Tuscany

For 4 people: 15 cabbage leaves, 500 g of minced meat, 100 g of salted pancetta, 1 egg, 50g of Parmigiano cheese, half

a glass of white wine and half a glass of milk, two slices of bread, salt, pepper, a sprinkling of nutmeg

8 July 2025

REGENERATE AND HELP REGENERATE WITH TOURISM IN TUSCANY

TOURISM AS A SOURCE OF WELL-BEING FOR YOU AND FOR THE TERRITORY WHERE THE JOURNEY TAKES PLACE WITH EXPERIENCES AND NOT VISITS, IN NATURE AND LOCAL CIVILIZATION

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne

esperienza turistica enologo per un giorno Fattoria del colle Trequanda Toscana

Winemaker for a day experience at Fattoria del Colle Trequanda Tuscany

Regenerative tourism is a new trend that reflects the awareness of being in the privileged 10% of the world’s population that, however, produces half of the greenhouse gas emissions. Along with this sensitivity, the need to rediscover oneself by listening to one’s body grows. A need that generates the desire to take care of one’s physical and psychological well-being threatened by a growing sense of uncertainty and insecurity.

So the journey no longer includes just visits but experiences of what is natural, different and to be preserved. Regenerative tourism is not the cure for all the ailments of contemporary mankind but responds to his needs. It restores value to the territories and ecosystems where the journey takes place. Also it does not consume the territories it visits but helps their survival. It proposes a more minimalist and sustainable style in direct contact with nature and local life.

Fattoria del Colle, in Trequanda in Southern Tuscany, fully embodies this approach, offering experiences that enrich both visitors and the surrounding environment.

AUTHENTIC IMMERSION IN THE TERRITORY

Fattoria del Colle is a miraculously intact sixteenth-century hamlet, surrounded by 336 hectares of vineyards, olive groves, crops, woods and truffle reserves. Guests can stay in rooms, apartments and villas created from old peasant homes where the furniture is made of small local antiques and it feels like living in the house of your Tuscan grandparents. The farm also offers a traditional cuisine restaurant where everything is handmade. There is a cooking school, a natural wellness centre and outdoor activities such as 4 trekking routes, 3 swimming pools and 3 parks that allow for total immersion in nature.

7 July 2025

ALUMINIUM IN THE KITCHEN: BETTER NOT

WE HAVE KNOWN FOR YEARS THAT ALUMINUM PANS CAN RELEASE TOXIC COMPONENTS INTO FOOD BUT ALUMINIUM FOIL IS ALSO DANGEROUS WHEN COOKING AND IN CONTACT

cottura corretta in forno con carta da forno a contatto con l'alimento e foglio di alluminio all'esterno

correct cooking method in the oven with baking paper in contact with food and foil on the outside

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestnation, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne

I love super housewives more than starred chefs, but in this case, we can learn from them. They avoid contact between aluminium foil and food both in the oven and during storage because acids such as lemon or pickles could generate contamination. Check their recipes and you will see.

This is a valuable lesson that everyone should learn and bring into the kitchen. An article by Eugenio Marini in Gamberorosso Notizie goes into detail with plenty of examples.

3 July 2025

92/100 AWARDED TO ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2022

EXCELLENT RATING OF 92/100 FROM WINE ENTHUSIAST ON THE ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2022 BY DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI WHICH IN THE MOUTH RECALLS CRISPY AND FRESH WILD BERRIES

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination

The Rosso di Montalcino 2022 was born in a very hot year with no rain for seven months. The winemakers at Casato Prime Donne saw grapes arrive in the cellar with berries as small as peas that were then transformed into wines full of noble substances and especially tannins.

A WINE BORN WITH KINDNESS

To obtain silky wines from such a rich must, it was necessary to vinify with extreme delicacy, then extend the maceration in contact with the skins and then bring forward the placing in the barrel to November.

The result is a small masterpiece of harmony: a powerful but elegant and fresh wine thanks to the perfect acid content of the grapes.

1 July 2025

TOPINI FROM MONTALCINO

MEAT-STUFFED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS TRADITIONAL IN THE FARMHOUSES OF MONTALCINO, KNOWN AS TOPINI BECAUSE THEY ARE ROUND AND HAVE A TAIL

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle, Casato Prime Donne

Until fifty years ago Montalcino was a poor town where families ate little meat and lots of vegetables because everyone had a vegetable garden. For this reason, the little beef was often boiled, which was mixed with sausages and rigatino to then be stuffed with onions, artichokes, courgettes, potatoes … depending on the season of the year. Housewives had in fact managed to invent delicious dishes that fed even the largest and poorest families. Today stuffed zucchini flowers or topini, as they are called in the Montalcino lexicon, are a delicious rarity. In fact, although they are delicious to eat and can be prepared in advance and then served after heating them in the oven they require a long preparation time. This circumstance discourages young people with very little time available.

26 June 2025

Super offer with Rosa di Tetto 2024 and Brunello 2020!

Do you want to receive this offer made of 100% Sangiovese wines at €154.90 directly at home?

Dear friends, we have prepared for you an unmissable opportunity for true Sangiovese lovers! Two masterpieces from amazing vintages. The Rosa di Tetto IGT Toscana 2024, in preview, and the Brunello DOCG 2020.

🎁 together with the bottles you will find: two blue shopper bags, two sheets of tissue paper (to give a touch of elegance to a gift you will give to your friends) and the package sealer

What’s special about this offer?

This is a special opportunity to receive 2 different expressions of Sangiovese from the Donatella Cinelli Colombini farms. For the first time, part of the grapes used for the Rosa di Tetto 2024 come from the Casato Prime Donne vineyards in Montalcino. Donatella’s vineyards are grown organically and with great commitment.

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Members of Donatella’s Club

3 bottles 0.75L Rosa di Tetto IGT Toscana 2024

3 bottles 0.75L Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2020

two blue shopper bags, two sheets of tissue paper and two package sealers, all with the logo of the Donatella Cinelli Colombini wineries

🎯 Special price: €154.90 (instead of €184.20)

🚚 €10 discount on shipping

💡 Want to double?

12 bottles for €289.00 (instead of €368.40) with the same advantage on shipping.

19 June 2025