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

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

PREPARATION OF POLPETTE AVVOLTE TOSCANE

Very easy, it takes about an hour including baking in the oven.

Wash the cabbage leaves and blanch them for 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water. Dry them.

Soak the bread in the milk and squeeze it, mix it with the minced meat, diced pancetta, egg, Parmigiano, salt and pepper. Grate the nutmeg.

Form meatballs the size of mandarins and wrap them in cabbage.

Bake in the oven at 180°C for half an hour, placing baking paper on the bottom of the baking tin.…

L'articolo POLPETTE AVVOLTE OR CABBAGE ROLLS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

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

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.…

L'articolo REGENERATE AND HELP REGENERATE WITH TOURISM IN TUSCANY sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Fattoria del Colle is a very small hamlet built at the end of the sixteenth century on a hill overlooking the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi. It is waiting for Easter for lovers of Brunello, traditional Tuscan cuisine, old local traditions, views and nature.

A UNIQUE PLACE WITH A LONG HISTORY AND ENCHANTING VIEWS

A setting of ORGANIC vineyards and olive groves, beyond which there is a landscape of wonderful harmony dotted with cities of art and abbeys. Places of great spirituality such as Monte Oliveto Maggiore just 11 km away.

For the Easter weekend, Fattoria del Colle offers an intense program of three visits with experiences and tastings,

gourmand lunches, brief cooking lessons, two toasts and of course itineraries in the woods, relaxing stops to enjoy the wonderful landscape in the silence of nature.

For great wine lovers there is an extraordinary tasting of three 5-star vintages of Brunello 2013, 2015 and 2019 in the section Prime Donne and Riserva versions.

The tastings continue at the table with creative and highly traditional recipes combined with Brunello, Chianti Superiore Supertuscan and Doc Orcia wines. The Fattoria del Colle restaurant is a romantic, refined but informal place to make everyone feel welcomed and pampered.

SPECIAL PROPOSALS WITH WELLNESS AND BRUNELLO TASTING

Those who want to regenerate their skin, as well as their palate and mind, can have personalized massages and vinotherapy, even as a couple, in the natural wellness area.…

L'articolo EASTER 2025 IN TUSCANY IN TUSCANY IN FULL SPRING sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Among the novelties for 2025 is the “driver discount” of €10 for those who have to get behind the wheel after the experience in the cellar and can therefore taste only one wine.

THE FIRST ITALIAN WINERY WITH AN ALL-FEMALE TEAM

Casato Prime Donne is the first winery in Italy to boast a staff made up exclusively of women, from the oenologist to the cellar workers, from the sales staff to the tourist reception staff. This pioneering choice underlines the commitment to female empowerment in the wine sector, giving our wines a unique touch of sensitivity and dedication

A TRAIL AMONG ART, HISTORY AND WINE

The cellar offers an immersive experience that goes beyond simple tasting. The paintings and videos seen inside tell the story and traditions of Montalcino, while the contemporary art installations in the organic vineyards create a perfect union between culture and nature. Visitors can explore a trekking route enriched by works of art and read the dedications of illustrious women surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of the Val d’Orcia.

At Casato Prime Donne there are five unique experiences available that celebrate the culture, wine and beauty of the Tuscan territory. Here is an overview of the proposals for 2025.

BRUNELLO AND FARM EVO OIL

The novelty for 2025 is an experience specifically designed for those who love all the excellencies of the Tuscan land.…

L'articolo CASATO PRIME DONNE: AN UNPARALLELED EXPERIENCE IN MONTALCINO sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

The main innovation this year is the introduction of the “Driver discount” which provides a €10 discount for those who can taste just one wine. It is Fattoria del Colle’s contribution to safe driving and a kind way to alleviate the sacrifice of those who will then have to drive. A necessary adjustment after the introduction of the new highway code and the tightening of controls.

DRIVER DISCOUNT FOR SAFE WINE TOURISM

For 2025 the new experience is called “New Oil in Ancient Jars, Brunello and Vino Orcia Cenerentola” and enhances the recently inaugurated orciaia in the basement of the Fattoria del Colle villa. After a very careful restoration and the use of some innovative elements, Donatella Cinelli Colombini is, for the first time, putting extra virgin olive oil back into traditional Tuscan ceramic containers. A mix of tradition and innovation that increases the charm of the wonderful extra virgin olive oil from these lands.

THE NEW 2025 EXPERIENCE IS CALLED “NEW OIL IN OLD JARS AND GREAT TUSCAN WINES”

The “New Oil in Ancient Jars, Brunello and Vino Orcia Cenerentola” experience is a tribute to Tuscan traditions and sustainability. This tour begins with a walk among vineyards and olive groves, where visitors will discover the stories and specificities of the native Sangiovese and Foglia Tonda vines, and the Correggiolo, Moraiolo and Olivastra olive trees.…

L'articolo FATTORIA DEL COLLE 2025 WINERY TOURS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by #donatellacinellicolombini

For the first time, in many years, the ripening of the grapes was what winemakers dream of: the ripening of the pulp of the grapes (technological) and that of the skins (polyphenolic) occurred simultaneously and completely.

Average 13% alcohol, lignified seeds, small berries and bunches, good content of noble substances, acidity and PH just below perfection… And lots of grapes.

At the beginning of September no one was hoping for such a spectacular result, in fact everyone was pessimistic because the weather forecast was terrible.

CHRONICLE OF THE 2024 HARVEST: FROM PESSIMISM TO JOY

After 60 days of scorching temperatures in July and August, with temperatures of 37°C during the day and 22 at night, the vines are still. Veraison is slow and ripening does not seem to progress. Then the weather changes suddenly and a very rainy month begins: from early September to early October, around 200 mm of rain falls. It’s cold and at night the thermometer drops to 10°C.

Managing a climate of this kind is very difficult: you need a team of very good agronomists, grape growers and oenologists, excellent harvesting technology and a pinch of luck. We have all this and in fact we produce an amazing harvest.

We are lucky to have the vineyards full of small bunches, open with small grapes with thick and hard skins and therefore capable of resisting the rain.…

L'articolo BRUNELLO HARVEST 2024, A MASTERPIECE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

NEWS ON THE EXCELLENT VINTAGE 2022

Few very good and healthy grapes due to the 2021 frost which extended its effects into the following year, and also

due to the seven months of drought which put the vines and the winemakers to the test, as they were forced to continuously hoe the earth. 2022 will be remembered as the year of drought and tannins and it was also a very hot year where budding occurred early, also leading to an early harvest compared to the normal calendar. The small caliber of the grapes and their thick skins have allowed the creation of very structured and long-lived wines. The very favorable relationship between the skin and the juice of the grape has produced an exceptional concentration of noble substances and above all of tannins in the wine. For this reason, the vinification was very delicate and the maceration in contact with the skins was prolonged.

THE 2022 VINTAGE OF ROSSO DI MONTALCINO FROM CASATO PRIME DONNE

The result is a powerful and sunny Rosso di Montalcino, like the heat of summer 2022, but also with a surprisingly fresh sip thanks to the perfect acid content of the grape.

WHAT IS CHIANTI SUPERIORE

The Superiore type indicates Chianti with superior quality characteristics and aging ability. It is produced from vineyards with greater vocation and lower production.…

L'articolo OFFER: TWO ORGANIC 2022 FAMILY WINE PREVIEWS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

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.

VINCENZO DONATIELLO AND POOLWINES

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.He is therefore not a fanatic of “first price” bottles but he is also creative enough to understand that there is a difference between a gourmet lunch and a glass to drink without focusing on the appreciation of the organoleptic characteristics. Donatiello’s innovative vision is also expressed by the “Dictionary for waiters” of which he is the author, and in his articles in Intravino and in the wine section of the Lifestylie newspaper il Gattopardo.

POOL WINES NOT AS DRINKS BUT AS A DISCOVERY OF DIFFERENT, INTRIGUING AND NON-TROVIAL PLEASURES

From the same fertile mind, in 2018, the idea of ​​POOL WINES came out, that is, light, immediate, simple and obviously thirst-quenching.

How to recognize them?…

L'articolo Poolwine sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

The 2016 vintage is << the best vintage of an entire generation >>. This is said by Bruce Sanderson, senior editor of Wine Spectator, , a prestigious American magazine in the wine sector. According to Bruce, the Brunellos from 2016 are the most interesting wines since the 1990s.

This vintage of Brunello has also been called the year of wonders, of real masterpieces destined to make the history of the appellation, one more reason to grab and keep as many bottles of this vintage as possible, to enjoy it today as in 20 years.

3 bottles Brunello Prime Donne 2016

3 bottles Brunello Riserva 2016

2 vacuum pumps to be able to enjoy the bottle even a few days later

THE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PRIME DONNE 2016

Casato Prime Donne is a property of 40 hectares of which almost half of vineyards in the Sangiovese variety. The cultivation is organic, certified since 2018. This estate belonged to Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors already in 1592. It is located in the northern area of ​​Montalcino where the climate is cooler and the soils are colder and richer in clay.

At Casato in 2016 the vegetative cycle of the vines – from bud to harvest – was longer than usual, this gave rise to grapes in perfect balance and Brunellos that are deep, satisfying, refined and more suitable than ever for long aging.…

L'articolo OFFER: A CELEBRATION OF THE 2016 VINTAGE sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Those who arrive at Fattoria del Colle know they will find a temple of the more rural Tuscan traditions. The restaurant also reflects this spirit.

The interior room is decorated with a floral motif taken from the villa of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s uncle and aunt in Chianti Classico. Here there is the fireplace and the breakfast buffet with homemade cakes and biscuits, typical cold cuts and pecorino cheese … the piece of furniture is the farmer’s old desk. The queen of farm breakfasts is Patrizia Guerri who every day prepares unbeatable doughnuts, pies and sponge cakes.

ALFREDO BIAGI, ROBERTA ARCHETTI AND PATRIZIA GUERRI

On the veranda of the restaurant, surrounded by greenery, is the room where guests generally dine by candlelight. Here there is a small collection of copper objects of the farming tradition: jugs, bowls, basins … The decor is more modern with padded chairs and white tablecloths but the dishes are handcrafted in  Montelupo Fiorentino inspired by those used in the countryside a century ago.
The dining room service is directed by Alfredo Biagi, AIS Sommelier of the Arezzo delegation since 2016. Alfredo is from Chianciano Terme where his family arrived at the end of the nineteenth century and experienced the golden age of this thermal wellness resort.…

L'articolo RECIPES AND PEOPLE OF THE FATTORIA DEL COLLE RESTAURANT sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

We present the 2019 vintage, classified 5 stars, of this Doc Orcia that comes from a small and exclusive production born in the vineyards, vinified and aged in cask at Fattoria del Colle, in Tuscany. Born on the hills 400 meters above sea level near Montalcino, Montepulciano and Cortona.

The Leone Rosso Doc Orcia wine is a very versatile wine that can accompany the entire meal. It is also particularly suitable to match with cold cuts and young cheeses. It adapts well to intense and even spicy foods.

Exclusively for you, 3 bottles with 3 labels to customize to celebrate a dear friend or an anniversary. For example, if Francesco invites you to his birthday, you can take a bottle with a bespoke label.

12 bottles of Leone Rosso Orcia DOC 2019

3 customizable labels

3 shopping bags with logo

SANGIOVESE WITH MERLOT FOR A BLEND OF ELEGANCE AND SOFTNESS

This wine contains Sangiovese and Merlot grapes resulting in a typically Tuscan elegance and silky softness.

Much appreciated for its drinkability by wine lovers and by the wine critics of Wine Spectator, James Suckling and Wine Enthusiast who, in recent years, have given excellent ratings of 90/100 and even higher.

WHY IT IS CALLED RED LION WHEN THE LION ON THE FAMILY CREST WAS BLACK

The rampant lion is the symbol of the ancestors of Donatella Cinelli Colombini who built  Fattoria del Colle in 1592.…

L'articolo OFFER: LEONE ROSSO 2019 DOC ORCIA – 5 STARS sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Fattoria del Colle reopens its doors for Easter. In the splendid scenery of the most intact Tuscany, where the great red wines for ageing are born, tourists will be able to live four days full of engaging and exciting experiences. Returning home, they will discover that they have learned so much about the history, the wines – Brunello, Orcia, Chianti Superiore, Supertuscan – the foods and even the traditional herbs of Tuscany.

EASTER 2022 AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE

The long Easter weekend – from Good Friday to Easter Monday – allows you to regenerate with “landscape therapy” BIO -organic vineyards and olive groves, three equipped parks, paths where you can go trekking or stop to enjoy views of extraordinary beauty.

The Fattoria del Colle is like a small rural hamlet with a chapel and a villa built in the 16th century surrounded by farmhouses. They have been transformed into apartments and rooms for tourists while maintaining the intimacy of the past thanks to the furnishings of authentic local antiques.
There is a restaurant, the old barn with the banquet hall, the cooking school and the natural wellness area where wellness lovers can enjoy massages and wine therapy for couples.

A PROGRAM FULL OF UNUSUAL AND INTERESTING EXPERIENCES DEDICATED TO WINE

The real strength is the wine produced in the cellar at Fattoria del Colle and in Montalcino at Casato Prime Donne.…

L'articolo Fattoria del Colle is waiting for you for Easter 2022 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini

We have been shut to the public but we have never been still. Those who have been following us via social media have seen the awards arriving from all over the world for our wines, the birth of the photography safari and the new signposting the experimentation of dishes by our chef Doriana, the Spumante bottles on the pupitre, the spontaneous Val d’Orcia herb plantation in the vegetable garden ….

WINE DESTINATION: IMMERSIVE ROOM WITH THE 4 SEASONS IN THE VINEYARD

Many small things are changing Fattoria del Colle into a wine destination able to offer authentic and absorbing experiences with wines and with the old Tuscan traditions.

Obviously the biggest changes are in the cellar at Fattoria del Colle. The fermentation area has now been boxed off and has a shelter that will protect the grapes in arrival during the harvest. Where the packaging takes place there is already positioned a new bottling machine and soon the new labelling machine will arrive so as to guarantee the maximum care even in the last but all the same important moment in wine production. There is an immersive room where visitors will be able to hear and see what happens in the vineyards during the 4 seasons and at different times of day.…

L'articolo The Fattoria del Colle wine destination opens again in May sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

For those who adore great cheeses and wants to enjoy a delicious  snack with Brunello 2016 and Parmigiano reggiano aged 24 months, or the IGT 2016 Il Drago e le 8 Colombe Supertuscan together with an excellent tasty provolone or a un caciocavallo bianco and the Chianti Superiore DOCG matched with fontina valdostana…
For those who love experimenting with dishes from all over the world and maybe mixing them throughout the same meal. For those who enjoy searching for new suggestions matching wines and food from different cultures.

To these wine lovers we propose a box with three family wines that come from  Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s vineyards and that have been aged in her cellars at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and at Fattoria del Colle south of Chianti in Tuscany. The box will be delivered directly to your home together with a vacuum stopper that allows you to extract the air from the bottle and preserve the wine for a couple of days once opened.

ONLINE TASTING LINK

Donatella and Violante Cinelli Colombini will taste on line these three splendid wines together with those who have ordered them. The date and the link will be communicated once the wines have reached the clients’ home.

Online Donatella and Violante will explain the wines and tell of how they were born together with some fun anecdotes.…

L'articolo Offer for the CLUB: Brunello, Chianti and Supertuscan sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

Itinerant tastings that resemble adventures out to discover vineyards and wines, aromas and tastes, panoramas and historical locations. Also the proposal for a day at Fattoria del Colle to regenerate in a safe place, in contact with nature an able to tell a story centuries old. An itinerary dedicated to vineyards and to the wines they produce. Another activity that proposes an itinerant tasting with a mixture of history, aromas and flavours. A lunch experience to taste different Tuscan cheeses or cold cuts, and on Saturdays the possibility of an excursion to the Brunello di Montalcino winery Casato Prime Donne.

Tours and lunches are organized upon request and must be booked the previous day calling +39 0577 662108 or via email at info@cinellicolombini.it

ITINERANT TASTING IN THE VINEYARDS

3 vineyards, 3 grape varieties and 3 wine tastings (h. 12,00 midday from the farm courtyard)

Itinerant tasting of the wines in the organic vineyards with the same variety of grapes are grown: Traminer for the IGT bianco Sanchimento, Foglia Tonda for the Doc Orcia Cenerentola and Sangiovese for the Brunello that is made in Montalcino at Casato Prime Donne visible at a distance. This experience thanks to an expert guide will be a fun discovery of the characteristic of the three varieties and of the vines they produce (15 Euro per person).…

L'articolo Fattoria del Colle new top wine destination sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

2017 will remain in the history of European viticulture as the year of the great frost. At the end of April, for three consecutive nights an arctic cold wave crossed the continent reaching as far as Spain and Sicily and destroying the buds that, that year, had sprouted 20 days in advance. The photos of Burgundy and Collio with the fires in the vineyards were on the front pages of the newspapers to show the heroism of the winemakers who fought, unfortunately, unnecessarily.
Who, like us, was saved from the frost, then had to fight with the drought and the summer heat that reached 43°C for ten days in a row. The rains of late August and September literally saved the vines and the harvest.
The last scourge was the wild boar which, driven by thirst, also ate the unripe grapes.

A SMALL HARVEST FOR CHIANTI SUPERIORE

In the end, the harvest of Fattoria del Colle was the lowest ever; about one third of normal production.
The grapes have been selected by hand, in the vineyard to harvest only those with the same level of maturation. A challenging operation, that allowed the production of wines of excellent quality.
Chianti Superiore 2017 has a Mediterranean character“” with a wealth of extracts and alcohol but also a surprising freshness that depends on the careful cultivation of the vineyards– organic and with frequent hoeing –.…

L'articolo Chianti Superiore DOCG 2017 sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, Chianti superiore

Obviously politics, connections and other circumstances have had an important role but it is always wine business that generates richness that increases the value of the terroir and attracts investors.A prosaic explanation that might be true but certainly less charming than the idea that it is the quality of a wine that crates the myth and the value of a specific territory.This is the extreme synthesis what is said in the report by Giulia Meloni and Johan Swinnen published by Wine Economics, titled Trade and terroir: the political economy of the world’s first geographical indications.We can concentrate on the analysis of the Chianti region. After the Roman era where the eternal city was the centre of wine commerce, there came the medieval period where vineyards and wine commerce were abandoned. In the 15th century Florence and Siena held the main wine markets.

This corresponded to investments made in creating vineyards, building villas, carrying out of research and introductions of salaries for those who worked in making wines. The exporting of Tuscan wines takes off when the English-French war creates serious problems for the Bordeaux wineries and so the English traders begin to seek alternatives to the Chiaretto.

So the Grand Duke Cosimo III in 1698 cancels the ban on the exporting of wine and the impact is rapid: from 300 Hl exported in 1675 to 13.000 Hl when the ban was removed.…

L'articolo The end of a myth: it is business that makes a terroir sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.