Happy New Year 2021
Let’s say goodbye to a difficult 2020 and toast to 2021 with the new Brunello, wishing peace and goodwill to everyone for a splendid new year
Violante and Enrico’s Wedding – the most beautiful 2020 memory
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini
We need s good luck toast, and there is nothing better than the Brunello 2016 Prime Donne. As all wine lovers know Brunello becomes Brunello legally only at midnight of its last year. This time the new vintage to be realized has been anticipated by drum rolls and the great international wine critics have given it extraordinary ratings already before it gets released. So other than the character of the wine that brings good fortune, this time we are in admiration of a Brunello than can hopefully rid us of the dark shadow of Covid and allow us to have faith in a new year full hope.
So I will toast with Brunello Prime Donne 2016 wishing everyone health and happiness in the New Year.
THE END OF 2020 THE COVID YEAR
2020 is ending and it is time for considerations: except for my brother who was fortunately asymptomatic, none of us got covid19 in the family and on the estate.
2020 new staff of Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s wineries with 3 winemakers: Giada, Barbara and Sabrina
The province of Siena has been one of the least hit by the pandemic but to protect ourselves we really have done our upmost; face masks, disinfectant gels , dry sanitizing guns, ozone instruments … rooms for quarantining pillows for the beds …. Plexiglas panels, shifts in the offices …. We even sent away a tourist who was suspected of having the virus….
In the vineyards the work went ahead as usual, where the harvest was scarce in quantity but very high in quality. We are expecting 5 star rating for the vintage. The olive harvest on the other hand was very abundant in quantity and quality. White truffles unfortunately were very rare.
THE FINAL BALANCE OF 2020: WINE WENT WELL, TOURISM NOT SO GOOD
Wine sales went well thanks to the foreign markets that have bought and bought again an excellent Brunello 2015.He has been our champion that has conquered Covid. Wine sales in Italy and direct sales from the wineries have greatly decreased but thanks to less costs (no Prowein and Vinitaly, no trips abroad, no yearly edition of the Casato Prime Donne award …) the final economic balance of the agricultural estate is positive.
Less so the country inn hospitality and restaurant aspects at Fattoria del Colle that worked only from halfway through July to mid October losing all foreign weddings and 70% of the normal income. Even more disastrous was the situation in the three ToscanaLovers stores, the Cortona shop practically with nil income and the other two with earnings for 2020 of about one fifth compared to usual.