Vines and wines

Houston places Brunello sky high

A tasting of 41 Montalcino wineries in Houston – Texas attracts operators from hundreds of kilometres and even from other states

The USA are now the largest Brunello market, even larger than Italy. They absorb 25% of the total production, which means one bottle of Brunello very four. If we consider that most of the wine sold in Montalcino is sold to foreign tourists Italy goes below this quota and become the second market. It seems strange but that is how it is!

For this reason the first important tasting of the new Brunello 2008 takes place in the USA even before the Benvenuto Brunello kermess in Montalcino.

Every year the presentation in the USA takes place in New York and in another key city. This year for the first time we are in Texas, and it’s a success.

Don’t think of cowboys and cattle, here there is true richness, petrol, an industry bound to electronics, here is found the best hospital in the world and the largest university if the States. A less formal lifestyle and dress style but, many dollars…everything is big, exaggeratedly big!

The Brunello tasting location is a structure used for banquets, with a large hall and a smaller one for the two seminars held by Kevin Zraly a wine expert and tutor for wine courses of international fame.

Here’s for you the Brunello Prime Donne 2008

The Brunello dedicated to women, in the direction for Sangiovese and Montalcino tipicity, a new research of personality and finesse with little “oak effect”

The Brunello Prime Donne 2008 expresses its full belonging to the identity of Sangiovese and Montalcino. In other words it exalts those characteristics of the grape variety and of the Brunello territory that right on the Montalcino hill reach their excellence. A choice that puts the wine’s personality in the role as protagonist. The choice of refined style is also evident: a togetherness of harmony, elegance, roundness and lengthiness.

The effect of the barrel ageing, where the wine has rested for more than two years, becomes softer also because of the choice of medium and large barrels after the winemaker Valerie Lavigne asked us to empty our cellar of barriques.

2012 a sunny balance at the end of the year for Donatella Cinelli Colombini

2012 a very tiring year where a lot of work has been done. Great awards, successes, small commercial progress and great difficulties tied to the International crisis.

The best image of the past year is of the Premio internazionale Vinitaly received directly from the President Mr. Riello and the General Manager of Veronafiere Giovanni Mantovani. Such an important award which I shared with Debra Meiburg the Master of Wine who rates 7th in the list of most powerful women in wine in the world.

A good portrait of the increase in quality of the wines from this cellar is given by the image of 5 wines with ratings over 90/100 in Wine Spectator: Il Drago e le 8 Colombe, Cenerentola, Brunello, Brunello Prime Donne and Riserva, the latter with 95/100 is in the Olympus of the 18 Italian “Top Wines” chosen by Wine Spectator. The Brunello Prime Donne is among those Highly Recommended by “Decanter” and among the three preferred by the Master of Wine Rosemary George.

From 10 to 600.000 € per hectare. How much an hectare of vineyard in Italy?

From 10.000 € in Copertino in Puglia to 600.000€ in Lago di Caldaro in Alto Adige there are all sorts of prices in Italy.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

A recent article in the “Corriere Vinicolo” (26 November pp.20-21) creates a map of value of Italian vineyards, underlining the decrease in sales but also the stable prices regardless of the economic crisis our Nation is facing. The report carried out by Inea points out how in Italy, from the beginning of the Millennium, the value of vineyards has increate by 28% consequently more than inflation, so in real terms, it has grown by 2% and all of this regardless of the contraction in prices which took place after 2008.

The average value of one hectare on a National level is of 36.000€ which means a lot more than that of other cultivations which is o f about 19.400€.

What does this survey say then about the period  2010-2011: negative period for prices of vineyards for  Veneto and Tuscany regions  In the latter the land for producing  Brunello and Chianti Classico have decreased in value , even if just a little.

Brunello di Montalcino 2008 to begin at best the 2013

A fantastic 5 star Brunello Riserva 2007

Exalting of the typicity of the Sangiovese and of Montalcino, an effect of the climatic changes, new vineyards who have reached their production maturity for a great Brunello Riserva 2007

The Brunello wine becomes Riserva when at its best, for this reason Donatella Cinelli Colombini just like all the other producers in Montalcino, takes care of it more than any other wine, in the vineyard and in the cellar.

This Brunello Riserva shows in a more evident way than the three previous vintages the change in style of the Casato Prime Donne winery, whose goal is to exalt the typical elements of Sangiovese from Montalcino: a graceful and austere elegance that only on the Montalcino hill reach levels of absolute excellence. Such results are possible thanks also to the climatic changes which favour Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards, situated in a cool area of Montalcino, where the soil is rich in clay and consequently able to capture rainfall and release it during the hotter months. The new vineyard Ardita, planted in 2001, has finally reached its productive maturity and expresses very high levels of excellence. That is the vineyard that supplies us with the grapes for this extraordinary Brunello Riserva.

Donatella awarded by the Inner Wheel Club Firenze Iris

Even those who have received many prizes like “Lady Brunello” Donatella Cinelli Colombini, when they are awarded the Inner Wheel di Firenze Iris show great emotion.

Past winners of this award are prestigious women: women of culture like Dacia Maraini and Ilaria Occhini, the doctor Maria Luisa Brandi, the film maker Cinzia T.H. Torrini and the scientist Margherita Hack.

This is consequently an important prize given by the President Gianna Baudo Bacchi in the splendid frame of the Villa Viviani in Settignano, a short distance from the Casa di Boccaccio where Donatella has her Florentine and where, in the 14^th century the author of the Decamerone lived.

The award solemnizes the Inner Day, the International celebration day for this association, which the Club Firenze Iris celebrates with particular solemnity. The award goes to a woman who chosen among the candidates proposed by the Tuscan Inner Wheel members. Donatella Cinelli Colombini received her nomination form the Siena Club and from two excellent sponsors, the President Lucia Galleni Fornaciari and the Past president Cecilia Cateni Mittica.

Autochthonous yeasts from hornets in our Brunello

Native yeasts are trendy and more frequently they are used to protect the typicality of a wine, just as Donatella Cinelli Colombini has done

But is it as marketing ploy or is it really an identifying element?

We believe that they really are an identifying element. At Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino we use native yeast chosen in 2008.  It is not a contradiction. It is a practice which is scientifically flawless  (carried out for us by the Oliver Ogar laboratories): it is in fact possible to isolate strains present in a spontaneous fermentation to then reproduce them in the laboratory and use them for production. We have tried three of them and one of them has given extraordinary results. In the logic of increasing the Exchange between Vineyard and insects we built the  vinification area called Tinaia del Vento – where we vinify the Brunello in truncated-cone shaped vats, open on top. The results have been excellent.

Outline of US wine consumers and wine lovers

The Boomers buy 44% of wine but it’s the younger Millennials who buy the most expensive bottles. Contemplation on how to dialogue with the US consumer

It’s the generation born after the Second World War, in full economic expansion (1945-1964) who guides the wine consumption in USA. A 30% portion of wine shopping goes to the Generation X who gradually will substitute the previous target a sit gets older. The Millennials, in other words the consumers born in the 80’s , who are now between twenty and thirty year of age buy a little less than 13% of wine just like the over sixty’s.

This sub-division come from Rob McMillan, founder of the Silicon Valley Bank’s Premium Wine division and has been well commented by WineNews. To this one must add the detail of the type of wines consumed. When Rob McMillan declares that the Millennials are not yet a resource for the wine industry he refers in fact more to the commodity segment than to the premium wines or ultra premium wines like Brunello or Barolo.

Rating of the most powerful women in wine in the world

No Italians among the top 10 chosen by the magazine “The Drinks Business”. On the podium Gina Gallo, Jancis Robinson and Annette Alvarez Peters

Gina Gallo, the heir and technical director of the Gallo winery, is the most powerful woman in wine in the world. If the influence that comes from the billion bottles produced per year, then there is the husband, great French wine Jean-Charles Boisset. Together they make up one of the most formidable wine couples ever seen.
In second position of “The Drinks Business” list is Jancis Robinson the English Master of Wine. Tireless and with unquestioned authoritativeness Jancis has a column in the “Financial Times” and an intense activity on the web. Only on twitter she has 160.000 followers. Next step down on the podium we find Annette Alvarez Peters head buyer for Costco the major French quality wine importer in USA and fifth American retailer with a billion in purchases per year.
Following are Philippine de Rothschild from Chateaux Mouton, Lalou Bize-Leroy the great dame from Bourgogne, Danièle Ricard President of Pernod Ricard, the second company in the world for beverages.

Chianti and Tuscan wines’ redemption where exportation flies high

Chianti wine: 3.600 grape-growers, 15.000 hectares of vineyards, more than 100 million bottles and after years of being forgotten, finally the rebirth

In 24 months the export figure have gone from 40 to 70%, while the requests have picked up so much that the Consorzio del Chianti has considered anticipating the release of the new vintage in January rather than in March a sit was previously. The rebirth of the main Tuscan denomination has certainly benefitted from the positive atmosphere created by the events abroad organized by the Consorzio with Giovanni Busi as president. A true novelty for the Chianti wine, which is now organizing a road show of enormous proportions: China Japan and then the USA, Russia, Switzerland … Important steps along a path that still seems lengthy; in supermarkets in China sales start at 1,70€ per bottle while the cost on tap goes from 70 to 90 € per hectolitre. In the end, even if the bottles produced are more than 100 million, the total business is of only around 300 million Euro.

Read the article below!

Brunello wins the China Award together with Juventus and Pasotti

Two awards in one week for the Montalcino producers; here they get recognition as an Italian excellence with the award given by the “Fondazione Italia Cina e Milano Finanza”

Palazzo Clerici, one of the most beautiful buildings in Milan, with its frescoed halls with lots of golden stucco decorations, is the frame for the China Awards organized by Milano Finanza and by the Fondazione Italia Cina with Cesare Romiti as President. The award giving took place during a charity dinner to collect funds for a hospital on tracks –Life Line Express – which travels through the remotest regions in Asia curing those who suffer from cataracts, about 400.000 people suffer from this condition every year.

So, a very important evening, with all of Milan’s high society present, the Mayor Giuliano Pisapia included. Among the awarded there were 26 Italians, and 3 Chinese societies, divided into seven categories. The Brunello wine was the first to be awarded in a section created this year and which regards those who represent Italian excellence in China.
<<For the last seven years the China Awards are the occasion to give recognition to the successes achieved by Italian companies>> said Cesare Romiti in his introductive speech. In fact the list of winners was really impressive, with societies who told stories of vast expansion with great business figures and fantastic production centres. There were even those who had the entire managing staff come over from China to take part in the ceremony. Consequently the event was a big one and Brunello was among the main protagonists also thanks to its brand fame.
In the same section as the Montalcino wine prizes went to Cucinelli, the Fratelli Rossetti and to Vincenzi Group.

Brunello wins the Foreign Press award in Italy

Donatella Cinelli Colombini on the Gambero Rosso stage receives the award from Foreign Press and tells of Brunello magic

The “Gruppo del gusto”, born in 2002 reunites 118 journalists from 30 foreign nations and interested in wine & food, chooses every year 4 excellencies and the award living takes place during a gala dinner that this year took place at the Città del Gusto in Rome. This is an exceptional year, because of the conjuncture of the Foreign Press centenary and the decennial celebration of the “Gruppo del Gusto” coordinated by Alfredo Tesio.

So this event was such a success, as never before, with the public of journalists also standing in every area of the theatre.
Even though it seems incredible this is the first award given to the Consorzio del Brunello in 45 years of activity so receiving it was enormously exciting, as was going on stage of the Teatro del Gusto del Gambero Rosso. A mythical place! These were the winners: for production Pastificio Luca from Corte Croera (BL) the highest in Italy at 1450 metres above sea level in Cadore.

The 100 places in Italy that make women happy

A guide book for women where Susan Van Allen describes 100 exclusive or particular places among which Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino [caption id="attachment_7437" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Susan Van Allen and Donatella Cinelli Colombini"][/caption] The tile is very original “100 places in Italy every woman should go” (www.travelerstales.com pp. 443 $ 19,95) and it contains the description of places where women are welcomed and cared for or where something can touch their heart. Following this criterion Susan Van Allen has chosen gardens, beaches, beauty centres, coffee shops, stores, weddings and even mothers…… always with a vigilant eye and without being influenced by the...

Toscana tourism and wine tourism are superstars

Tuscany is the region most sold by USA tour operators and the second most sold region by European, Canadian, Japanese and Australian tour operators

In other words Tuscany, Dante and Michelangelo’s land, once again confirms that it is rich in appeal for foreign visitors coming to Italy and that most of all it is able to satisfy their interests which, looking at the statistics, are in order of importance, art cities, itineraries and wine and food. Three sectors where Tuscany is well ahead.

If we concentrate our attention on the attractiveness of wines, and food we notice that the most interested are the Americans with 34% of preferences, followed straight away by the Australians (33%) and then by the Japanese (12%) the same nationalities of the most numerous tour operators active in commercializing Tuscany. The fame and rich offer of the wine districts in Tuscany – Chianti and Brunello above all – plays a decisive role in this game and creates a “ shop window effect” which also helps the exporting of wines.

It’s worth remembering that Tuscany is the first among wine and food tourist destinations Tripadvisor 2012. To prove the enormous power of this region on the foodies touristic destinations both Censis (44% of preferences) and the web survey by WineNews del 2012 put Tuscany at the top of the main wine tourism destinations.