Cancello del cortile fattoria del Colle

DONATELLA TALKS ABOUT HER TWO WINERIES

Two wineries with a single Tuscan soul and the feminine dream of qualitative excellence.  Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda

 

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini #winedestination

 

The Casato farm already belonged to my ancestors in 1592. Over the centuries they used it for hunting and for honeymoons. Today the property seems close to the town of Montalcino in a northerly direction, towards Siena, but at that time it appeared remote and in the middle of the woods suitable for solitary intimacy. More recently the Casato belonged to my grandmother Giuliana Tamanti Colombini, then to my mother Francesca and in the future, it will go to my daughter Violante. All women for a winery which is the first in Italy with an entirely female staff and has been renamed “Casato Prime Donne”.

 

 

CASATO PRIME DONNE IN MONTALCINO

In 1998, when my mother gave it to me, Casato was almost a ruin. In 25 years, it has changed into an estate capable of exporting to 44 countries around the world with around 17 hectares (out of a total area of ​​40) of organic Sangiovese vineyards cultivated with obsessive care. I am a traditionalist, a nature lover but also a non-conformist and rather rebellious. For this reason, in my first years alone, I looked for new and different solutions, then I returned to being the paladin of everything ancient and manual with roots proudly in the earth. My Brunellos stand out for their harmonious and certainly feminine elegance.

At Casato Prime Donne my creative and hospitable streak is clearly evident in the way in which Brunello is told to visitors using panels that show the history of Montalcino, projecting images on the fermentation vats, playing music and dotting the vineyards with works of contemporary art made by artist friends.

 

 

 

 

FATTORIA DEL COLLE IN TREQUANDA

Fattoria del Colle is an inheritance from the Socini family that came to me from my father and my grandmother. The Socini were a rich Sienese family who built the farm at the end of the sixteenth century only to lose it almost immediately due to Lelio and Fausto, anti-Trinitarian “free thinkers” who took sides against the Church. It’s an honour to read their name in philosophy textbooks but… in reality they ruined the family. The Fattoria del Colle was bought back, almost by chance, by my great-grandfather Livio Socini at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is almost a hamlet that has remained miraculously intact for centuries, with a villa, chapel and parks. Today it has been transformed into a country inn with 106 beds, 3 swimming pools, restaurant, banquet hall, cooking school, natural wellness area… A place dedicated to tradition where tourists have the impression of living with their Tuscan grandparents. The heart of the farm is the cellar for the 16 hectares of vineyards (the estate is 336 hectares of land, all organic) which in the newly built part is surrounded by a metallic oak forest and contains a room to teach tourists to listen to the vineyards.

 

 

Here we saved the ancient Tuscan grape variety Foglia Tonda from extinction and, by using it in a blend with Sangiovese, we brought it to international success with the Cenerentola wine. The Montalcino winery produces only long-aged single-varietal wines, while Fattoria del Colle creates younger blends. Overall they can boast 10 labels on the market with scores above 90/100 in the international press and a spectacular authentic Tuscan character that makes every sip moving  and velvety.