Donatella Cinelli Colombini Tag

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

in Farm experiences

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

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

Walter Massa is a brave and genial wine maker who brought Timorasso back to life in the 70’s. Bringing success to his winery and to a whole region, the Colli Tortonesi, a small corner of land in Piedmont squeezed between Monferrato and Oltrepò.

WALTER MASSA, FATHER OF THE TIMORASSO, AND HIS NEW CHALLENGE

Now Massa launches a new adventure: the 2018 vintage of his wines will have a Guala screw top closure with NFC technologies- Thanks to these closures the consumers of Derthona Costa del Vento, Derthona Montecitorio and Derthona Sterpi will receive on their mobile information regarding the vineyards, the grapes and the production system of each bottle together with tasting notes and the opinions of wine critics.

The Guala screw top is a “high technology” closure that certifies also the authenticity of the wine thanks to the block chain system that connects the identification code of each bottle to a platform where it gets verified.

the first aluminum smart NFC closure for wine

Guala Closures: winner of the Worldstar Award for e-WAK

GUALA THE SCREW TOP CLOSURE THAT TALKS ABOUT THE WINE AND GUARANTEES FOR IT

The Guala Closures Group has supplied this revolutionary closure to wineries such as Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley and to the Californian Böen as well as to the spirit in the UK, William Grant & Sons.

A very courageous step by Walter Massa of this screw cap together with the virtual storytelling that is much appreciated by the consumers. Buyers desire more and more to connect the experience in the glass to a story that charms and enriches with knowledge.

6 March 2020

in Farm experiences, Forum: News and lifestyle

Is wine a family business?

Joys and sorrows of family wineries. To belong to a wine family dynasty offers better perspectives in imagine and in duration in time, as long as there are no rows

Lucia Buffo interviews Lunelli, Boscaini, Soldati, Nonino, Antinori

By chance I see an article in Wine Searcher, the super portal from New Zealand. They publish the prices of wines from all over the world , from the best stores from all over the world. They always share also articles that are very very interesting. This particular article has this tile: “Family Wine affair, a Risky Business” and was written by Margaret Rand.

WINE FAMILIES, A STORY OF NOBLESSE AND ROWS

I come from a wine family; my vineyards are on this land since the end of the 16th century. So this subject regards me directly. Reading the piece by Margaret Rand one understands that mine is a privileged situation that creates a better appreciation of a brand and its wines. However the saying “you can’t choose your family” is perfectly apt for many particularly confrontational wine dynasties.

Gaja and Antinori

Soma explicit examples are quoted in the article, and it starts with my distant relatives the Biondi Santi family, then the Alvarez from Vega Sicilia, and finally the Mondavi’s where Robert has spoken of disputes, even physical ones in an autobiography.

THE WINE FAMILY ASSOCIATIONS

Unions such as Primum Familiae Vini, born 25 years ago ,were born because of the difficulty in creating cohesion among the family members of these historic wine dynasties. And of course because of the necessity to advise one another. Primum is made up of the real wine Gotha from the international wine world: Marchesi Antinori, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Joseph Drouhin, Egon Müller Scharzhof, Famille Hugel, Champagne Pol Roger, Famille Perrin, the Symington Family Estates, Tenuta San Guido, Familia Torres, Vega Sicilia and Clarence Dillon. Obviously this is not the only partnership. There are also partners that have solely common sales objectives or those tied by shared scopes, such as the Famiglie dell’Amarone that are opposed to the Consorzio della Valpolicella.

21 February 2020

in Farm experiences, Forum: News and lifestyle

Montisi the magical village part of Montalcino

Toscana-Montalcino-Montisi

Two km from Fattoria del Colle there is a sign indicating the entrance to the territory of Montalcino. I feel at home, although originally my municipality was not so big because it expanded with a merger only in 2016. It is a fact that in Montisi (6 km from the Fattoria) now they say here in Montalcino>> and I listen to them ecstatic.
Montisi is perhaps the most intact medieval settlement in Tuscany.

A small gem built on the remains of the Cacciaconti castle with narrow streets that climb up one inside the other among beautifully restored stone houses. It is so pretty that it looks fake but it is not… the Pieve della Santissima Annunziata (XIII century) with a beautiful altarpiece by Bartolomeo (1496), the Church of Santa Flora and Lucilla, the ‘Oratorio di Sant’Antonio Abate with the small museum that testifies how, the poor people of Montisi could survive by helping each other. In these places I have a beautiful personal memory.

MONTISI A PERSONAL MEMORY WITH ABSOLUTION

I was little more than twenty and studied medieval Sienese goldsmiths. As in each of the things that I do, even in that case I had thrown myself into the adventure with all myself dragging my husband, then fiancé Carlo Gardini, in an interminable pilgrimage between museums and churches to count chalices, reliquaries, and so on …

In Montisi there was a processional cross and I went to examine it and photograph it. Seeing the patience with which Carlo helped me, the priest said to him “Were you in Rome for the Holy Year? Did you take up the plenary indulgence?” Carlo did not expect it and was amazed “no” he answered with a thread of voice “it doesn’t matter>> said the priest “ kneel because I’ll give you absolution, I can see that you are a good boy>> and blessed him. To me nothing, he obviously understood who was the tender one between us.

Continue reading

29 January 2020

Vin Santo del Chianti 2008 Fattoria del Colle

Donatella Cinelli Colombini presents her Vin Santo del Chianti 2008 Fattoria del Colle aged in caratelli for eleven years .

A small selection of very few bottles for lovers of sweet wines

First of all Vin Santo is part of the history of Tuscany. In ancient times all the noble families had caratelli (small barrels) in which the Vin Santo aged in the attic of their Villas. Vin Santo was always served at important banquets .
We do not know when the production of this sweet golden and refined wine was born, it surely existed already in Siena in the fourteenth century. But it was precisely during a banquet that the Vin Santo ceased to be called “vino pretto” that means pure and took on its present name.

The legend

According to legend, this happened in 1439 after the Council of Florence. That meeting was attended by the Greek Cardinal Giovanni Bessarione who, tasting it, exclaimed “this is the wine of Xantos! ” in reference to the island where sweet wines were produced at the time particularly appreciated. Hence, since then xantos wine became Vin Santo and the name remained to indicate the delicious Tuscan nectar.

Fattoria del Colle too, has its vinsantaia, it is in the attic of the sixteenth-century villa. So, crossing the winery and climbing a staircase you can reach the attic where in winter it is very cold and in summer it is very hot. Here are the small barrels in which the golden liquid, squeezed from the dried grapes, remains to ripen for over ten years.
Last year the Vin Santo del Chianti of Fattoria del Colle received 93/100 from Robert Parker/Wine advocate. A success that we hope will be repeated in the future.
We recommend not to dip cookies in Vin Santo. It is a popular practice very widespread in Tuscany but absolutely harmful because it alters the aroma and taste of the wine.

24 January 2020

DRY JANUARY? BETTER NOT

Italian consumers and wine culture

Is abstinence from alcohol better than education for moderate drinking? The British say yes to dry January and perhaps even the French. In Italy no

It must be said that in Italy the problem of alcohol abuse is much lower than in other consumer countries. If in fact in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus, Lithuania and Portugal the average alcohol consumed in a year is 12.5 liters per person. In Italy it is between 5 and 7 liters as in Japan, Iceland or China. It must be known , in the ranking of the OECD countries on alcohol abuse, in the first place are the USA, and Italy is in last position.
However wine is only 12% of the total alcoholic beverages consumed by about 2.3 billion people in the world. To alcohol should be added drugs which are often used in a combined way, especially by young people, to accelerate the euphoric effect.

Continue reading

22 January 2020

The 10 most expensive cognacs in the world

Prices from 2 million to a modest 5,000 dollars per bottle, these are the jewel cognac sto store in a safe: Prestigious bottles for a very long ageing By Donatella Cinelli Colombini [caption id="attachment_45828" align="alignleft" width="204"] Il-Cognac-più-costoso-del-mondo.-Enrico-IV-Dudognon-Heritage-Cognac-Grande-Champagne-2-milioni-1-230x300[/caption] The most expensive is Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne costing 2 million and is, deservedly, in the list of the most costly in the world. It has been produced since 1776 by the direct descendants of the King and it ages in barrel for more than 100 years The bottle is covered in 24 carat gold and with 6.500 diamonds. The question is who will...

20 January 2020

in Vines and wines

Brunello Prime Donne: story of a challenge

Donatella Cinelli Colombini had just started designing the company that bears her name when she realized that women managers and consumers counted for nothing. Brunello Prime Donne: story of a challenge

Brunello-Prime-Donne-2015-storia-di-una-sfida

Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne is very traditional in style, produced in a small exclusive selection.
It owes its exceptionality to the grapes of Sangiovese from which it is born. The small size of the bunches and grapes allow it to combine longevity, an extraordinary elegance and a surprising pleasure. The solid acidic and tannic structure is in fact barely perceptible thanks to a perfect harmony.

HISTORY OF A CHALLENGE: BRUNELLO PRIME DONNE

Brunello Prime Donne selection was produced for the first time with the 1993 vintage.
Donatella Cinelli Colombini had just begun to design the company that bears her name and that is characterized by the two wineries– Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda – with an entirely female staff. The attention to the role of women in wine led Donatella to observe that wine critics and curators of the Italian wine guides were, in 1998, all men.

She decided to reaffirm the importance of women’s taste in the choice of wine by creating the first Brunello selected from a feminine and international panel. The first group consisted of 4 tasters, the English Master of Wine Maureen Ashley, the German wine maker Astrid Schwarz, one of the best Italian sommeliers Daniela Scrobogna and the Italian-american Pr Marina Thompson.

Over the years, the group has changed to become the current one composed of two Masters of Wine, the English Rosemary George and the Swedish Madeleine Stenwreth, as well as Astrid Schwarz and Daniela Scrobogna.

17 January 2020

Cabernet is the most cultivated but not the most loved

Cabernet is the most cultivated grape in the world but is it also the most loved? A research on Wine searcher shows that wines of Bordeaux blend are the favorites ones

Cabernet is the most cultivated but not the most loved

The big data on wine, the computer analysis on one of the most boundless existing portals in the world, Wine searcher, allows you to understand which grape is really liked by wine lovers – Cabernet or Bordeaux blend?

CABERNET IS THE MOST CULTIVATED GRAPE, BUT THE BORDEAUX BLEND IS THE MOST LOVED.

An exercise that Don Kavanagh enjoyed doing with his typical irony starting from a question: “Cabernet is the most cultivated grape in the world, but is it the favorite?” Is it more liked single vines or Bordeaux blend?
In the end the victory of the Bordeaux blend is overwhelming but with many distinctions Country by Country.
In the USA, Cabernet (14%) is particularly popular, but the Bordeaux blend is second in consumers’ interest with only half a percentage point of distance. In the United Kingdom, however, the Bordeaux blend wins, followed by Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Champagne and Rhône Valley with Cabernet only seventh.

15 January 2020

Chianti Superiore DOCG 2017

2017 the lowest yield vintage ever brought to the winery gives us a Chianti Superiore, really superior, at Fattoria del Colle in the south of Tuscany

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.

8 January 2020

Di Donatella Cinelli Colombini

Italian restaurants with high online approval

Customer satisfaction for Italian restaurants appreciated on the web exceeds 85%, especially the reception and less the price. On top are Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto.

Italian restaurants with high online approval

The Travel Appeal report analyses every year the reviews in the main online tourist portals that for half concerns restaurants. In the period September 2018-August 2019 customer ratings were over twenty million and therefore constitute a very large sample of evaluation.

6 January 2020

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

Di Donatella Cinelli Colombini

The best Italian restaurants in the world

Passerini in Paris wins, second place for Don Alfonso in Toronto and bronze medal for Heinz Beck’s Tokyo venue. Talk of the best Italian restaurants in the world

Migliori-ristoranti-italiani-nel-mondo-Giovanni-Passerinie

The- best -Italian -restaurants- in- the- world-Giovanni-Passerini

The ranking 50 Top Italy with the best 50 Italian restaurants in the world is available online and is the first result of the LSDM project (historical congress of kitchen author that takes place in Paestum) curated by its creators, Barbara Guerra and Albert Sapere, along with the journalist Luciano Pignataro.

25 December 2019

Why the cork makes wine sell in USA

Over half of the wine sold in the USA is chosen quickly, without too much expertise, in food stores and if it has cork it is preferred

cork-screw cap-other closure effect

by Donatella Cinelli Col ombini

How does the US consumer choose wine? In the world’s largest market, 70% of wine purchases take place without the help of specialist staff. About half of the wine is sold in grocery stores. This percentage would rise to 70% if it were not for a dozen states, the marketing of alcohol is separate from that of food. For example in New York City the wonderful eataly shop had to build a separate area to sell Barolo, Chianti and grappa.

IN USA MOST OF THE FAST-BOUGHT WINE IS SOLD TOGETHER WITH FOOD

the sound of cork

In the USA wine in bottle represents 90% of the total while that in can or in brik is a marginal part.
Most customers choose quickly and without great skills. For this reason, the purchasing decision is oriented, in a decisive way, by the visible characteristics of the wine such as the price or the closing.

6 December 2019