Donatella Cinelli Colombini Tag

As in everything else it is the quality of the ingredients that makes the difference, if courage and creativity are added too. The fruit salad that everybody calls macedoine is an easy dessert that can conclude with style a meal if well ripe mixed fruit is used, with lots of lemon and some sugar.

FRUIT SALAD WITH GRAPPA DI BRUNELLO

If you wish to obtain something really super, then an addition of pine nuts, raisins, nuts and dried apricots, a generous shot of grappa and some whipped cream or artisan ice cream. It is worthy reflecting on these two last ingredients. To use a fine estate grappa from the Brunello lees from Casato Prime Donne and distilled by Marolo in Piedmont makes all the difference.
If the cream is made with excellent raw products and whipped at the last moment at home, or if the ice cream is Italian gelato….not cream that we used during covid lockdown (at least Silvia found some of that though!) … then you will have a n extraordinary final dessert for your meal.

3 August 2020

in Vines and wines

Sanchimento IGT 2019 Tuscan white wine

From Traminer grapes from the small vineyard next to the chapel at Fattoria del Colle in the best vintage of the century with a hint of orange

IGT Toscana white wine Sanchimento – Donatella Cinelli Colombini – Fattoria del Colle

This is the first 2019 vintage wine by Donatella Cinelli Colombini to be ready, and reveals a desire for experimentation. The Traminer grapes used to make it look towards orange wines. It is just a touch of orange but Sanchimento 2019 appears completely different to previous years, with more structure and aromas, with hints of yellow coloured fruits. This is something new and refined and even more versatile in food pairing because it can be matched also with young cheeses and dishes that are just a bit flavourful.
Sanchimento IGT 2019 is a BIO wine (organic) produced with Traminer grapes from the small vineyard that surrounds the San Clemente Chapel (or Sanchimento as in local old tongue) at Fattoria del Colle. The building was built in 1592 by the present owner’s ancestors while the vineyard was planted by her father in 1989. Traminer is an unusual variety in Tuscany that, thanks to the altitude of Fattoria del Colle at 404 metres above sea level and to the cool nights, reaches ripening preserving freshness and aromas.

Sanchimento IGT is a limited production of just 2.000 bottles.

Traminer – Tuscany – 2019 Harvest – Fattoria del Colle

SANCHIMENTO A TUSCAN WHITE FROM TRAMINER GRAPES

TYPE: dry white
PRODUCTION AREA: Tuscany, Trequanda, Fattoria del Colle
VINTAGE CHARACTERISTICS: dry winter, April and May very vey rainy, the summer was very hot even though interrupted by two great storms, on July 1^st and September 15^th that however irrigated the soil.
GRAPE VARIETY: Traminer 100%

HARVEST AND VINIFICATION OF THE SANCHIMENTO 2019

GRAPE HARVEST: September 10th. The grapes were handpicked and put into small crates with slits, where they were refrigerated before vinification.
FERMENTATION: A small amount of grapes was vinified with its skins and natural yeasts according to the orange wine technique. After 12 days of maceration the racking took place.

The rest of the grapes were pressed and the must obtained was cooled at 4°C for the static decanting of the lees. After 12 hours the limpid must was racked and as soon as the temperature reached 14°C the yeasts were added. The fermentation lasted about 18 days at a temperature of 16-18°C.

Only a few months later did we add to the Sanchimento the 5% of Traminer that had vinified with the skins.
QUANTITY PRODUCED: 2.000 bottles.

28 July 2020

in Vines and wines

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The vengeance of Brunello 2014

Considered a lesser vintage the 2014 Brunello di Montalcino offers pleasure to those who drink it. This is an important benefit as explained by Andrew Jefford in Decanter

Andrew Jefford, Decanter about Brunello di Montalcino 2014

Life as a wine producer is full of surprises: the article in Decanter is dedicated to the hedonistic pleasure of enjoying wine, rewards our Brunello 2014 and fills us with joy.

The wines born in weaker vintages are like “Children of a lesser God”, to discover their beauty it is necessary to overcome the clichés. This is what has happened to the Brunello 2014, product of a rainy and cool year that forced us to choose the clusters and o produced just a third of our normal production. Consequently in this vintage we used for Brunello what usually goes into our selection and the Riserva, the grapes from our TOP vineyards, that never fail, whatever the climate.

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2014, GOOD RATINGS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Brunello 2014 – Donatella Cinelli Colombini – Casato Prime Donne – Montalcino

The specialized international press reports were favourable: 91/100 from Robert Parker -Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast, 90/100 from Wine Spectator. The market had appreciated this pleasant to drink and “carefree” Brunello, as Monica Larner called it.
However nobody let out a “cry of joy” before this article by Andrew Jefford, Decanter contributing editor and multiple award-winning author, published in the most important UK wine magazine and among the most authoritative and influential in the world.

21 July 2020

CAFFE’ IN FORCHETTA, A MONTALCINO DESSERT

This is a delicious dessert born at the beginning of the 20th century in Montalcino. It is called “caffè in forchetta” (coffee with a fork) but, in truth, it is eaten with a spoon

It is a Liberty-style dessert, an era when cafés became an important place in social life. In Montalcino, like in Venice or Turin, the local public places in the centre were re-qualified and enriched with velvet and mirrors so as to be able to welcome the bourgeois clients. These in Montalcino, the city of Brunello, comprised those who were noble, academics, business men, landowners and even a few artists.

CAFFE’ IN FORCHETTA IN MONTALCINO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY

Caffè in forchetta of Montalcino Tuscany Fattoria del Colle

Montalcino has always, in fact, had a diversified social structure, cultured and open minded. Regardless of this liveliness the lifestyle of the women was controlled and certainly not as casual as in Paris. In particular, women were criticized if they drank coffee, it was considered too audacious. For this reason a cream caramel was invented where to the milk was added to coffee. This way it was possible to serve coffee to the ladies without it seeming so. This dessert was quite a success and was served in all homes, until like everything else it was no longer fashionable. I published a booklet called “66 ricette di cucina montalcinese” where the fine oral Montalcinese gastronomy was transcribed. This brought back into use the caffè in forchetta that is now once again very present in the restaurant menus in the Brunello territory.
Here it is. It is a simple dessert quite apt to sweetly conclude a meal.

1 July 2020

We are open, come and have dinner at Fattoria del Colle

Dining is a cultural experience other than being a great pleasure. At Fattoria del Colle it becomes a melody of flavours, images and great wines

Pears cooked in wine – Fattoria del Colle Restaurant

Donatella Cinelli Colombini has collected recipes from housewives in and around Trequanda even before opening the Fattoria del Colle. For the same reason, she has a vegetable garden with lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, Aglione … as well as tarragon, and many types of mint, sage and rosemary …

FINE WINES OF CASATO PRIME DONNE AND FROM FATTORIA DEL COLLE

Obviously the strong point of the Fattoria del Colle restaurant is that the wine comes from the two wineries: Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and the same farm where we make the Chianti Superiore, Supertuscan and Doc Orcia Cenerentola, the latter is becoming a real star in the wine world. The wine list is made up of around 15 preferences including a sparkling wine, a white and a rosé. Those who might think that using wine as a restaurant’s key strength, do not consider that the menu has been constructed to exalt the flavours in the glass and that it is possible to change the wine matched to each dish or something really extraordinary, choose a Brunello vertical tasting selecting from 23 vintages and more than 50 labels between Brunello Riserva, Prime Donne selection and regular Brunello.

Farmhouse-in-Tuscany-Restaurant-Fattoria-del-Colle

If the notes from the glass were not to be sufficient, there are always the explanations from the staff or from the chef Alessandro Sironi who is a sommelier.

MENU’ FULL OF HISTORY, TRADITION AND TASTE

The menu concentrates on daily proposals that offer authentic experiences from the Sienese countryside: 6 small servings that alternate bread soups with pinci, noble meats such as Chianina beef, or Cinta Senese pork with vegetables from the vegetable garden, traditional dishes such as the Mantovana, Panforte and pears cooked in wine together with more modern suggestions such as the Semifreddo di Mantovana. Tuscan recipes and ingredients often from farm to table. The list of dishes is a little more austere than previously, but all the same it is able to charm and express the culture of the territory even more than before.

23 June 2020

6 bottles of 2019 farm extra virgin olive oil 2019

Extra virgin olive oil from the last harvest, in three varieties. Olives picked by hand in the olive groves at Fattoria del Colle and pressed at low temperatures, delivered directly at home

Fattoria del Colle is lucky to be positioned in an area renown for centuries because of the quality of its extra virgin olive oil. It is an authentic “cru” of the Tuscan olive oil. This offer will be delivered to your door ready to be served and to transform every dish into something delicious and healthy.

The estate has only 6 hectars of olive grove from which we make the 3 types of oil that we are proposing: the cultivar Moraiolo, Correggiolo (frantoio) and blend with the Biologico (organic) certification and the DOP Terre di Siena stamp.

OFFER OF 6 BOTTLES OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL -EVO 2019

2 bottles 0,75 Cl DOP Terre di Siena BIO 2019
2 bottles 0,50 Cl Extravergine di oliva cultivar Moraiolo
2 bottles 0,50 Cl Extravergine di oliva cultivar Correggiolo (Frantoio)

The offer finishes June 30th, 2020

19 June 2020

Ricotta Montata

A Tuscan dessert that is easy to prepare an extraordinarily delicious: ricotta montata with Vin Santo, the Montalcino recipe

The simplest things are generally the nicest. Whipped ricotta is so easy to prepare that even people like me, who never cook, can do it. It is an exquisite dessert and need little preparation time.

Obviously there are many versions that are much more complicated. I am proposing the Montalcino recipe with Vin Santo in it, to be served with the same amber coloured wine and maybe with a couple of biscuits or cantucci.

15 June 2020

in Forum: News and lifestyle, Vines and wines

DOC ORCIA BIO LEONE ROSSO 2018

The first organic DOC Orcia Bio wine made by Donatella Cinelli Colombini is the Leone Rosso 2018, practically a Supertuscan made with Sangiovese and Merlot

Orcia DOC 2018 Leone Rosso Fattoria del Colle Donatella Cinelli Colombini

A RAMPANT LION AND DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S ANCESTORS

The name of the wine and the rampant lion on the label come from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s ancestors’ coat of arms. This family in 1592 built Fattoria del Colle where this wine is born. This was an old and rich Tuscan family, mostly jurists and philosophers; they were then called Socini or Sozzini. The names of two Socinis, Lelio (1525-1562) and Fausto (1539-1604) are written in philosophy books as they were free thinkers and against the Church and, because of their writings regarding the Trinity dogma. Unfortunately their creed made them famous but also made them poor because they ended up being excommunicated and all their properties confiscated. Fattoria del Colle became once again property of this family only in 1919 when it was bought by Donatella’s grandfather Livio Socini.
Still today the family blazon, the rampant lion, is visible upon the entrances and on the ceilings of the Colle villa.

9 June 2020

in Vines and wines

A vertical of Brunello Riserva together with its glasses

3 historic 5-star vintages of Brunello Riserva 2004, 2007 and 2012 with two bottles of each in a wooden case, together with 6 crystal Riedel glasses invented to exalt them...

19 May 2020

Put Renaissance at the table with a woven tablecloth

The ToscanaLovers stores, boutiques for the best handicraft, propose a loom woven tablecloth to be delivered directly to your home at a special price

For those inviting friends for dinner, for those who want an elegant table, for those who appreciate Italian craftsmanship. For those who choose only unique and refined things here is a loom woven tablecloth with traditional artistic designs: amphorae and damask.
It will arrive on your doorstep very quickly.

The looming craft in Italy has a long tradition, its golden moment was during the Renaissance, and it continues today in the small craft shops in Tuscany and in Umbria.

loom woven tablecloths – ToscanaLovers

The tablecloth that we are proposing is consequently a very precious object.
It is made with natural fibres – cotton and linen – and has been made following the typical jacquard system, so, it is double-sided, there is a different design on either side. Its measures, 240 x 180 cm, make it perfectly apt for a table for 6, but there are also other sizes and a few other colours.

TOSCANA LOVERS TABLECLOTH OFFER

Tablecloth 240×180 (for 6 people) linen blend (50% cotton and 50% linen) with 6 napkins
design Damask or Amphora

FOR THE MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB
Special price of 165,00 Euro (instead of 195,00) until May 26^th 2020
We offer free shipping in Italy, and offer 10€ discount on shipping abroad

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT YET MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB
Special price of 175,00 Euro (instead of 195,00) until May 26th 2020
To this price, the shipping costs is to be added. In Italy is 18€, while for shipping abroad, costs varies from Nation to Nation and will be calculated upon receipt of the order

12 May 2020

in Forum: News and lifestyle, Vines and wines

2 magnums of Brunello Riserva, 2012 and 2013

Two great vintages of Brunello in the Riserva version and in Magnum bottles in a wooden box delivered directly to your home for your parties and important dinners

All Brunello is able to last in bottle for many years; the Riserva version is born for very long cellaring. Donatella Cinelli Colombini produces Brunello Riserva only in the best vintages, choosing by hand a small quantity of absolutely perfect Sangiovese grapes. For this reason Brunello Riserva has only been made 10 times in 13 years.
Always small quantities, for each vintage about 6.000 regular bottles and 100 magnums get produced.
The Magnum size 1,5 lt is the size where the wine is preserved best. If you are a wine lover and you want to surprise your friends with two exceptional Brunello, do not miss out on the possibility of buying these magnums of Brunello Riserva 2012 and 2013.
They will arrive in wooden boxes, directly on your doorstep together with a vacuum wine saver. This will help you store the bottle and be able to enjoy the wine, within the next few days.

OFFER- BRUNELLO RISERVA 2012 AND 2013 MAGNUM IN WOODEN BOX

Receive directly at home in A WOODEN BOX AND WITH A VACUUM WINE SAVER

Brunello riserva 2012-2013 Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

FOR MEMBERS OF DONATELLA’S CLUB

Special price 248 Euro (instead of 310) up until May 19th 2020

We offer free shipping in Italy and a 10€ discount on shipping abroad.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT YET CLUB MEMBERS

Special price 265 Euro (instead of 310) up until May 19th 2020

To this price the shipping cost must be added, for Italy 18,00€ while abroad the cost varies from nation to nation and will be quoted upon acceptance of the order.

PAYMENT via bank draft or credit card (VISA or MasterCard)

TO BOOK THE TWO MAGNUMS OF BRUNELLO RISERVA

Send an email to vino@cinellicolombini.it

This offer will conclude May 19^th 2020

20 April 2020

Detained at home in the Tuscan countryside

Covid-19 has hit the Siena region less than other provinces and seems to have stopped sooner. Stories as a group and personal anecdotes from Alice and Alessia

Alice Grassi tourism Tuscany Fattoria del Colle

The Province of Siena seems to have managed to contain the pandemic better than other areas in Italy. Regardless a strong flux of visitors from the Lombardy region to their second homes, a dance contest in Chiusi and a football team called Pianese from Piancastagnaio, who have all spread Covid-19 to entire municipalities, in southern Tuscany, the numbers regarding positive cases are low, as those who are in hospital and in ICU. What is surprising is the reduced amount of new positive cases since the beginning of April, regardless of the increased amount of swabs.

THE TUSCAN REGION DISTRIBUTES MASKS AND MAKES IT OBLIGATORY TO WEAR THEM

The Regione Toscana (like a county) has sent all citizens two masks (in blue and white boxes with writings in Chinese) and has forbidden us to leave the home without protection. Florence has been hardly hit by this pandemic in a consistent way, but the province of Siena will be one of the first to come out of it in Italy.

Alessia Bianchi tourism Tuscany Fattoria del Colle

In truth the sensation of danger is felt less because of the smaller sizes of the villages and because of the vast green spaces in the spring countryside. There is then the trust in a national health system, the institutions and the voluntary workers that has demonstrated its worth and that has control over the territory. Well done!! to the Regione Toscana, the mayors, the healthcare workers, voluntary workers of Racchetta, Misericordie and Pubblica Assistenza.

TOURISM COLLAPSES BECAUSE OF COVID-19

Next to this positive scene there is the preoccupying state of tourism that is actually falling off a cliff. Nobody can foresee if and when visitors will return. Tuscany receives mostly visitors from abroad, with a large percentage of US guests. Italian tourism is made up mostly of people coming from Lombardy. So, two areas of origin that are worrying even for those who are to welcome visitors. It is also very evident that local clientele is not sufficient for hotels and restaurants to open up again.
For the moment, the most difficult thing in lockdown with just an hour or so a day for smart-working. Here are the experiences of two of the people who welcome guests in the winery and country inn at Fattoria del Colle: Alice and Alessia.

1 April 2020

in Forum: News and lifestyle, Not only wine...

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Corolli di Montalcino for Lent

To call them Lent Pastries is exaggerated, these Corolli from the Montalcino tradition are soft buns with little taste

Lent Corollo di Montalcino recipe

In Montalcino, long ago, it was possible to buy these only during the 40 days Easter. Only bakeries sold them, and with their vans they delivered all over the countryside. Even further back the farmer’s wives would bake them in the wood fire, placing them in the oven after everything else had been cooked, so the temperature was much lower.

The Corolli are doughnut shaped buns to be dunked in milk at breakfast timer. They are not very sweet so I always thought that they were “repentance” quite the opposite of the tasty cakes and desserts for carnival time or the rich Ricciarelli and Panforte for Christmas time.

Continue reading

17 March 2020

Donatella’s two new young winemakers

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s female cellar staff increases with the arrival of two young winemakers

Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in southern Chianti, the first in Italy to have an all female staff in Italy, see the arrival of two new entries: Sabrina Buzzolan and Giada Sani.

THE TWO YOUNG WINEMAKERS AT CASATO PRIME DONNE AND FATTORIA DEL COLLE

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’ winemakers Barbara Sabrina and Giada

Two young winemakers who will share the responsibility of producing Brunello, Chianti Superiore and Doc Orcia under the supervision of Barbara Magnani who for the past twenty years has been Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s right arm. In medium -long term the idea is to renew the staff. Though at the moment Donatella and Barbara intend to keep the younger staff under Barbara’s wings to strengthen their abilities and to stimulate the desire to innovate without forgetting tradition and nature. <<An alchemy that requires courage, love of the territory and passion for cellar work>> explains Donatella Cinelli Colombini while presenting the two new arrivals. Both are small and minute, they are different though in aspect and in personality. Giada is Tuscan from Asciano, 10 km away from Fattoria del Colle; she has dark long hair and love tidiness. Sabrina Buzzolan comes from Malo Vicenza; she has blonde curly hair and the skin tone of the women by Tiziano.

SABRINA BUZZOLAN GLOBETROTTER AND WINEMAKER

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s winemakers Barbara Giada and Sabrina

In their professional journey there are differences too. Sabrina studied at San Michele all’Adige and then in the University in Udine where she got a degree in viticulture and oenology. She began to travel for wine at a very young age with work experience opportunities all over the world. In Antonio T. Palacios Garcìa’ laboratory and then the Erasmus at Universidad de La Rioja.

Harvests in Kooyong Winery in Australia, in France in the Château Guadet, Chateau Puygueraud and in the very famous Chateau Pavie Macquin, followed. Sabrina has also had experiences in Journey’s End in South Africa and in Carrick Wines in New Zealand.

A great formative profile with vast horizon intermingled with period in Italy beginning with a job in the Maculan winery in Breganze up until her arrival at Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s.

Thanks to the languages known Sabrina has paired her role a wine maker in the Montalcino winery Casato Prime Donne with a marketing role. This way she is taking on a profile very close to what Riccardo Cotarella call the winemaker of the future <<who, other than making the wine, knows also how to sell it>>. For this reason she is about to take part in the Wset course and has begun to work side by side with Violante Gardini the estate export manager at wine fairs.

13 March 2020

in Forum: News and lifestyle

WALTER MASSA USES TALKING CLOSURES

A cork that talks about the wine and guarantees the consumer that there is no counterfeiting. It is called Guala and they wines by Walter Massa are the first to use it in Europe

Walter Massa closures that talk about the wine and certify the bottle