Vines and wines

The US Wine Consumers’ Identikit

There are 6 types: guided by price, indifferent, habitual, image searcher, curious and there are only 10% of enthusiasts, really interested in wine

genome

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The six profiles of the US consumers arrive from Constellation Brand, one name that is a guarantee because in the beverage wine marketing has nothing to learn. Constellation is world leader in the premium wine business, and produces and more importantly sells beer, wine and spirits in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealandand Italywhere they own Ruffino and produce Brunello and Chianti. They are 4^th in the world list of who has the most vineyards and, its most famous winery, Mondavi, is the 4th largest in the world for volume of wine produced and sixth among the strongest brands. Only that Constellation has a portfolio with more than 40 brands. What is most extraordinary is the stock exchange result: the value of its actions has practically doubled in one year.

The most expensive Italian wine is a Brunello Biondi Santi 52.646$

No Italian wine among the 50 most expensive in the world but lots of new entries in the top priced bottles where Masseto is in second position

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Richebourg-Grand-Cru-Cote-de-Nuits-priced-on-average-around-16.513$

Again from Wine Searcher, the web site that groups the prices from 46.450 stores around the world and that reveals, live, the quotations for all wines. An immense database which contains a smaller section dedicated to the 50 most expensive wines. Here the French have the largest share. The first in the list Henri Jayer (who passed away in 2006) with his Richebourg Grand Cru, Cote de Nuits that is priced on average around 16.513$ after which is followed by Romanée Conti Grand Cru which however beats it with it maximum quote of 40. 155$.

As you may well understand these bottles are for all pockets affordable by all. The section in Wine searcher dedicated to the “Most expensive” has a menu reserved for Italian wines where the list seems well changed since last year with Masseto from the Tenuta di Ornellaia which has jumped up to second position and the Brunello Riserva Biondi Santi which records the highest price: 52464 $ an exceptional price and able to make our cousins on the other side of the alps quite jealous.

Obama’s cellar? Top Secret

The cellar at the White House is small and thrifty. But the dimensions do not matter it is the wine that peaks

read for you by Elena Mazzuoli

brindisi-Obama-vino

Each of us would think it obvious that the most powerful man in the world, always busy with state engagements and diplomatic rapports, able to make decisions which regards the whole world, might have a collection of wines that is never ending, one of those dreams that us common people can only imagine.
In fact the White House in Obama’s era has a very small cellar which seem so sort out the wines in a Just In Time logic. This secret is unveiled not be the official Sommelier of the White House but Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan, Master of Wine, who has visited the cellar several times, she describes it as being similar to a “walk-in-closet” because of its reduced dimensions. The mundane events at the White House have always been excellent occasions to promote American vineyards. But after the complaints received from President Obama regarding to the wines considered too expensive for a dinner with the Chinese President Hu Jintao, a veil of silence has descended , protected by all the officials.

A white saint in the heretics’ farm

Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents her white wine Sanchimento born at Fattoria del Colle, estate built by her ancestors in the 16th century

Sanchimento-IGT-2013

The 2013 vintage is one that can be called “old style”- We saw the ripening of the grapes proceed slowly with the sugar content and the acids evolving at the same rate with poliphenols in the skins. The result was a great harvest under a quality point of view, especially for the richness in aromas, and the finesse in the taste. But, it was also a harvest with fewer clusters because of the bad weather during the spring; this ruined the flowering phase reducing the number of clusters and their size. The Traminer grapes from the Sanchimento vineyard, always produces smaller clusters but in 2013 thy really were minute: for this reason they were well able to resist the problems caused by summer rainfalls making the most of the cool summer climate to elaborate an aromatic richness much superior to usual.

How to serve wines at the table- wine bon ton

Small secrets to use at home to serve wine in an elegant way: the choice, the order and most of all the way of serving

wine being served

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The first problem is obviously the choice of wines. Real wine lovers decide first on the bottles and after on the food to be matched but usually the menu is chosen first.
As for food with wine too the main rule of table etiquette is that there must be a crescendo of intensity. Obviously lighter white wines to begin with followed by the more robust and powerful ones or young reds. Sometimes it can happen that a young red is served before a great white. It is not a mistake but the underlining of the intensity on the nose of what is in the glass.
For red wines the order is based on age with small exceptions connected to the structure of the wines. Sometimes in fact the deepness and the length of a great Barolo or a great Brunello force a change in the usual rule , so these get served after older wines that are though less intense. The temperatures go from 8°C for sparkling wine, to 10°C for white and rosé, to reach 18°C for young red wines and 20°C for aged reds. To this general rule are the exceptions of desert wines, which are served at the end of the meal. Sometimes are served cooler so as to not overdo the sweetness.

93/100 – Wine Spectator rating for our Brunello Riserva 2008

First in Wine Spectator’s list of Brunello Riserva 2008, it is appreciated for its balanced character and long finish

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Wine-Spectator-Brunello-riserva-2008-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

This is Bruce Sanderson’s description <<This ripe juicy Brunello offers plenty of sweet cherry and licorice flavors. The tannins are assertive but overall this is balance. All the elements come together on long finish of briar and tobacco. Best drinking time between 2017 and 2023>>
93/100 is the maximum rating given to a Riserva 2008 Brunello di Montalcino, and we share this wonderful result with La Gerla, Mastrojanni – Vigna Loreto and Poggio Antico.
Bruce Sanderson, the wine critic who, for the last four years has tasted all the Brunellos, spent his first working years in the wine trade, and has been working for 21 years for Wine Spectator where he is one of the “Senior Editors” and he manages the entire “tasting department”.

RCR the crystal castle is in Tuscany

The largest crystal fusion oven in the world, Luxion which seems crystal but does not create pollution … that is what RCR is about

Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

RCR-glasses with crystal bases

RCR is one of the crystal brands better known internationally but also a world of technology and handiwork where impassioned and creative people work as part of a team in this difficult period and know how to create really innovative solutions.

I am talking about Luxion, a RCR patent which revolutionized the world of crystal because it is ecological, so it does not contain lead and is produced without creating emissions. But it also has other positive aspects: the brilliance and sonority of the crystal but at the same time the elasticity of the glass, so it does not break. I have seen a Luxion goblet be twisted 16° twist for 14,000 times and it remained intact.

Wine tours: where they go and how much the cost

Among the excursions to wineries with guide one finds a bit of everything: from tours for millionaires with top tastings to the wine maker cyclist who accompanies his guests whilst on his bike

Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Marsala-Cantine-Florio-bottaia1

Obviously the most visited region is Tuscany, obviously the wine tour market is online and the visitors are mostly North American but there is so much on offer, diversified and full of surprises that it is better we examine it with attention also because this subject is quite unexplored.
The first evident thing is that when you digit “winery tours” from the web you get mostly Tuscan proposals, some from Veneto, Piedmont and Sicily whilst if you write “visite in cantina” in Italian Google pulls out a list of wineries in Piedmont and sometimes in Sicily. This is already an indication as to which clientele the

wine-bus

“incoming agencies” have or rather transporters with VAT number and web site who sell wine tours.
A second and more decisive element for reflecting comes from the study carried out by Gruppo Poste Italiane proposed at Confesercenti in Siena in January 2014. On the web the search for the word Tuscany is associated with the word wine (21%) winery (9,7%) winery tours written in various ways ( 13%). The nation which mostly searches the destination Toscana on the l web is the US 31%, if on the other hand we consider the destination Siena the American searchers go up to 64% followed by the British Canadians and Australians making the English speaking group go over 90%.

A great wine ha san excellent cork, keep your eyes open

It is absolutely indispensable to recognize the quality of cork for wine producers but also for the consumers, as it reveals very important things

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Comparing corks

A great wine needs an excellent cork and to learn how to recognize it helps to under stand what we are drinking. I have not said it clearly but everyone had understood that I am talking about the natural wine corks in one piece that are used for great wines.

Obviously, the main function of the cork is to “seal” practically in a hermetic way the bottle. The cork gets more important according to the length of time the wine must age. For a Brunello it is essential while for a Novello no. Those who have antique bottles must check if their corks are beginning to leak (25-years). If the cork is leaking the nit means that it is completely saturate and cannot hold any longer. At that point you either drink the wine or have the bottle  “checked over” in the winery where it was produced. It will be given back to you with a certificate that states that the cork has been changed, in the case of very expensive bottles this is done in the presence of a notary.

A national portal for wine tourism in Italy

Here is my contribution towards #campolibero, the 18 actions foreseen by the Ministero delle politiche agricole upon which Maurizio Martina asks us all for ideas and projects

Sangiovese-grappolo-2012-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

Theme: COMPETITIVENESS AND JOBS
Section: National system for farm consultancy

PRESENTATION OF THE PERSON WHO IS WRITING
My name is Donatella Cinelli Colombini, in 1993 I founded the “Movimento turismo del vino” Wine tourism movement and I invented Cantine aperte, Wine day, the event which really pulled along the development of wine tourism in Italy. From 2001 to 2011 I was Tourist advisor for the city of Siena. Now I have a winery in Montalcino, I am president of the Consorzio dell’Orcia Doc and I am National vice-president of the Associazione Donne del vino. I teach wine tourism in post graduate and master courses in universities and I have signed 19 articles and books on the subject.
I think then that I have the credentials (from both a theory and practical point of view) to give the Ministro Maurizio Martina advice regarding wine tourism
SCENARIO REGARDING WINE TOURISM
This sectors business regards about 3 to 5 billion euro per year – according to how the generated income is considered- it regards about 21.000 wineries with direct sales with only about one thousand really organized for tourist welcoming. It should be organized through a territorial networks called Strade del vino, Wine routes, there are 170 of them and they are the real flop of this sector, as, only about 10 of them work. There is no real National oversight which coordinates the offer according to precise rules and who takes care of divulging and selling it through tourism fairs, the press, the OTA (online travel agencies), transport services ….. but most of all who organizes the web offer so that it be visible, attractive and buyable. To understand the state of things it is sufficient to visit the website for Italian tourism and the French one

http://www.italia.it/it/idee-di-viaggio/mangiare-e-bere.html

http://int.rendezvousenfrance.com/discover/champagne-vineyard

Wine at home ages quicker

Wine ages 4 times quicker in the home than in the cellar. This is the recent discovery made by Fondazione Edmund Mach –Istituto di San Michele all’Adige

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Infernotto-del-Brunello-di-Donatella-Cinelli-Colombini

The major research centre regarding Italian wine confirms what producers of great ageing wines already knew though personal experience: domestic storage is a killer for wine. In fact the comment by Professor Fulvio Mattivi author of the study published in “Metabolomics” leaves no room for doubt <<Six months in an apartment make the wine reach a chimical age which is equivalent to a two year refining period in the ideal conditions of a cellar>>.
In the end my grandfather Giovanni Colombini ‘s advice is still valid, advice he gave his Brunello clients <<wine is made for drinking , not to be looked at>>.

Mattivi’s pubblication, entitled “L’influenza della conservazione sull’età chimica dei vini rossi”, underlines, with figures at hand, how domestic room temperatures determine the «forming of composits never seen before, born from the union between tannins and sulphur dioxide accelerating the ageing of red wines». To get these results 400 bottles of Sangiovese ,in dark glass and sealed with real corks, have been monitored. 200 of these were kept in a cellar at the Istituto di San Michele all’Adige where the conditions are ideal (temperaturres between 15 and 17°C, humidity at 70%, darkness). The other 200 were stored in conditions similar to an apartment – laying down and at a

temperature of about 20-27°C. After 6 months the chimical analysis showed great differences