Donatella Cinelli Colombini Tag

ORGANIC BRUNELLO 2021 BY DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI

A YEAR THAT STARTED BADLY, WITH A LIGHT SPRING FROST, BUT ENDED WELL WITH AN EXTENDED RIPENING PERIOD THAT GIVES US A BRUNELLO FOR LONG AGEING .

Montalcino, Toscana, vendemmia 2021 Casato Prime Donne

Montalcino, Toscana, 2021 harvest Casato Prime Donne

Casato Prime Donne is usually the first to harvest Brunello grapes, but in 2021, it was among the last to harvest in Montalcino.

This is a very strange year, beginning with the disappointment of the frost that struck all of Europe’s vineyards. In our vineyards, it burned the tips of the first shoots and delayed the opening of those that were still covered when the cold wind arrived. This had two effects: a reduction in grape production and uneven ripening. Indeed, bud break marks the beginning of a vegetative cycle that lasts about six months. The 20-day gap between the first and last shoots resulted in uneven ripening. The result was a very labour-intensive harvest, requiring us to harvest each parcel separately and even go through the same vineyard multiple times, selecting bunch by bunch. This was a painstaking task, entirely done by hand by the pickers.

2021: THE LONG, CAREFUL, AND SPECTACULAR BRUNELLO HARVEST

Most of the harvest was therefore postponed to the end of September.

The bunches resembled those of Pinot Noir: small, open, and with miniature berries.

The heat and drought were also severe, with only two rains totalling 31 mm of rain from June to September, and peaks of over 40°C mid-August. However, paradoxically, the Sangiovese vines ripened in perfect health. The extraordinary resilience of Sangiovese stems from its millennia-old history in this area. Its DNA contains the effects of the Roman optimum, when temperatures were warmer than today, as well as the small glaciations of the Middle Ages and the 19th century.

The 2021 harvest was therefore poor in grapes but the 2021 Brunello will delight lovers of long-aging reds, as always happens when the ripening phase takes place in a period with cold nights, as happened this year

12 December 2025

in Vines and wines

DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI PRESENTS HER BRUNELLO RISERVA 2020

THE BRUNELLO RISERVA 2020 IS EXCELLENT AND WILL BECOME WONDERFUL. A WINE FOR COLLECTORS AND LOVERS OF RED WINE TO CELLAR THAT REQUIRES PATIENCE.

vendemmia del Brunello 2020 Toscana Montalcino Casato Prime Donne

Brunello 2020 harvest in Toscana Montalcino Casato Prime Donne

The highly elegant style that characterizes all Donatella Cinelli Colombini wines is enhanced in the Brunello Riserva. These are wines designed to last. In the 2020 vintage, this characteristic is extremely evident in the silky yet taut tannins and the acidity that lends vitality to the palate and is well balanced by the intensity of the flavour and the alcohol. Those who drink it now will find a great Brunello in their glass, but those who have the patience to wait two or three years will enjoy truly extraordinary powerful and velvety harmonies.

THE BRUNELLO RISERVA 2020 IN THE VINEYARD AND IN CELLAR OF CASATO PRIME DONNE

In 2020, the winter was mild and dry, so the vines budded early, and the frost of March 18-23 caused more damage than expected for that time of spring. The result was a reduction in the number of grapes in the vineyards. A very rainy June allowed the vines to withstand sixty days of scorching heat from mid-July to mid-September. The leaves were used for shade, leaving the rows with an unattractive but highly protective bushy appearance. For the same reason, pre-harvest leaf removal was avoided.

At harvest time, the grapes were perfectly ripe, healthy, with well-lignified seeds, and had the typical crispness of great vintages. Analytical data even better than 2019: smaller berries, higher extractable polyphenols, potential alcohol around 14%, and a good acidity. Very colourful and fragrant musts.

4 December 2025

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

WINE TOURISM IN WINERIES AROUND THE WORLD

Lo storytelling nelle cantine turistiche Casato Prime Donne a Montalcino

wine tourism at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino.

GEISENHEIM UNIVERSITY IN GERMANY INTERVIEWED 1,310 WINERIES IN 47 COUNTRIES, PROVIDING A PICTURE OF WINE TOURISM AROUND THE WORLD

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winetourism, Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

The 2025 “Global Wine Tourism Report” has been commissioned by top-level clients, including the UN Tourism Organization, the OIV – International Organization of Vine and Wine, the Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWC), and WineTourism.com. The scope is also vast, encompassing the entire world, with 1,310 wineries interviewed in 47 countries, but with a particular focus on Europe, which accounts for 70% of the sample, with Italy in a dominant position (17%).

PERHAPS TOO MANY EXPECTATIONS FOR THE WINE TOURISM BUSINESS

Wineries are showing strong interest worldwide: two out of three wineries report that wine tourism is profitable or very profitable. This type of tourism generates approximately a quarter of their total revenues. This percentage is likely higher in North America and smaller in Europe.

2 December 2025

OFFER: NEW OLIVE OIL FOR YOU!

The new offer includes a blend of EVO oil and two single-cultivar varieties from Fattoria del Colle, delivered directly to your door for tasty and healthy dishes for €179.00.

You’ll receive four bottles of 0.75L organic EVO oil 2025, and two bottles each of 0.5L organic EVO oil 2025 Correggiolo and Moraiolo. Freshly pressed oil with its intense aroma and vibrant flavour, delivered directly from the mill to your table.

Fattoria del Colle is located in Trequanda, one of the best areas in Tuscany and the world for producing extra virgin olive oil thanks to its sandy soil, its remote location from the sea, and its altitude of over 400 meters, which protects it from olive fruit flies. The farm has 6 hectares of organic olive groves and sells exclusively its own oil. The olives are hand-harvested between October and November and pressed at the Oliviera Sant’Angelo, 10 km from the farm, and at the Frantoio di Montalcino.

🎁 For those who take advantage of this offer, a video with the “Guide to tasting EVO oil”!

18 November 2025

MICHAEL GODEL’S EXCELLENT RATINGS

Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG 2021, Brunello Riserva DOCG 2020 e Brunello Prime Donne DOCG 2021 Casato Prime Donne Donatella Cinelli Colombini Toscana

CANADIAN BRUNELLO EXPERT AWARDS DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S WINES EXTRAORDINARY SCORES, AND HIS FAVORITE IS THE IOsonoDonatella SELECTION

For many years, renowned Canadian critic Michael Godel has spent extensive periods in Montalcino. He has visited most of the Brunello wineries, tasting all their wines. He therefore has a deep knowledge of the places, the people, and the different Brunello production philosophies, including its evolution over time. Receiving a positive assessment from him is a great honour and a great satisfaction.

Donatella Cinelli Colombini was delighted to receive the stellar scores of 96, 95, 95, 94, and 93 awarded by Godel to five of her Brunellos. These wines are produced at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino on the northern slope of the Montalcino hill, where the clay-rich soil is cooler and creates ideal conditions for the gradual ripening of the grapes.

13 November 2025

92/100 WS CENERENTOLA ALWAYS MORE A PRINCESS

DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI’S DOC ORCIA CENERENTOLA RETRACES THE FAIRY TALE OF THE POOR YOUNG WOMAN WHO BECOMES A PRINCESS AND IS AWARDED 92/100 FROM WINE SPECTATOR

Punteggio Wine Spectator Cenerentola DOC Orcia 2019, Fattoria del Colle, Donatella Cinelli Colombini

It’s difficult to stand out in an international wine market overcrowded with bottles. Especially with a young appellation like the Orcia DOC, and even more so with a native grape variety abandoned for over a century.

This is why Donatella Cinelli Colombini is happy every time her Cenerentola wine achieves a good result, like the 92/100 awarded by Wine Spectator for the 2019 vintage.

The Orcia DOC was born on February 14, 2000, in the high hills of southern Tuscany, nestled between the Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano territories. Sandwiched between two important and famous sisters, the Orcia DOC is in a favourable position for vineyards but difficult to establish a commercial niche.

27 October 2025

CHRISTMAS IS CLOSE, HERE ARE 2 BRUNELLO AND 1 ORCIA FOR YOU!

cenerentola 2019 DOC Orcia, Brunello di Montalcino 2020, sottobottiglia in resina artigianale

Would you like to receive this offer of 3 Magnums for €264.00 directly at your home?

This offer is designed for your Christmas party planning. Three different magnums to enjoy during moments of conviviality with family or friends (last bottles available). These bottles will also be appreciated as gifts by collectors of fine wines.

🎁 Along with the bottles, you will find: a beautiful resin coaster directly from our Toscana Lovers stores and created by Riccardo Marzi.

What’s special about this offer?

The value of a magnum bottle of wine lies in its excellent ability to preserve and evolve the wine, thanks to less contact with oxygen and its ability to withstand temperature changes better than a standard bottle. In addition to the qualitative benefits, the magnum format offers a strong visual impact on special occasions and makes a surprising and memorable gift.

Cenerentola and Foglia Tonda

Two grapes are used to produce Cenerentola DOC Orcia: Sangiovese and Foglia Tonda, both native. Sangiovese is the main grape variety in Tuscany, and in the Orcia denomination, it must comprise at least 60% of the total. In Cenerentola, it accounts for approximately 65%. The Foglia Tonda grape variety is genetically a descendant of Sangiovese. It has been cultivated in Tuscany since time immemorial and is mentioned in 19th-century sources in the Chianti Classico region. Foglia Tonda vines have also been identified in Siena’s historic urban vineyards. It is a late-ripening vine that loves heat and tends to be overly fertile, so its cultivation is primarily aimed at limiting grape production. It takes its name from its almost circular, lobed leaves. The bunches are cylindrical and compact. They ripen later than the Sangiovese. In the wine, the Sangiovese Foglia Tonda blend combines the vertical elegance of the first with the greater power of the second, which adds colour and polyphenols.

Brunello Prime Donne

A flagship wine for female winemaking! This wine comes from Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Casato Prime Donne winery and is selected by a panel of international tasters: two Masters of Wine, Rosemary George from England and Madeleine Stenwreth from Sweden, as well as Astrid Schwarz and Daniela Scrobogna. The tasters blindly taste the wines from the different vineyards and then

decide on the type of barrels to use, the length of maturation, and the blend between the different varieties. Today, Brunello Prime Donne is exported to 44 countries worldwide and is a symbol of courage, ethical values, and challenging clichés.

The 3 magnums included in the offer: Cenerentola 2019, Brunello di Montalcino 2020, Brunello Prime Donne 2018

Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello is produced in Montalcino, the world’s best area for the Sangiovese grape. This grape variety has been cultivated in Montalcino for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Thanks to the climate and soil, it has developed specific characteristics: it produces small grapes, with small clusters and small berries. This makes it possible to create a great, long-aging red wine in Montalcino, like Brunello, using just one grape variety: Sangiovese

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Donatella Club Members

– 1 bottle of Cenerentola 2019 Magnum Organic

– 1 bottle of Brunello Prime Donne 2018 Magnum Organic

– 1 bottle of Brunello di Montalcino 2020 Magnum Organic

– 1 resin coaster, an expression of Tuscan creativity

18 September 2025

ENDLESS CYCLE , 2025 ART INSTALLATION BY GIULIA LAPENTA

THE WORK OF ART THAT ACCOMPANIES THE QUOTE BY THE PRIMA DONNA 2025, DARYA MAJIDI, IS BY A 17-YEAR-OLD STUDENT FROM THE SIENA ART HIGH SCHOOL, GIULIA LAPENTA

by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda

Ciclo infinito endless circle 2025 CasatoPrime Donne Montalcino Giulia Lapenta disegna i profili

Ciclo infinito Endless Cycle 2025 Casato Prime Donne Montalcino Giulia Lapenta

Ciclo infinito-Endless Cycle is an artistic installation approximately 3.5 meters high with a cylindrical, saw-cut travertine base with a split top. From this base emerge six silhouettes depicting human heads made of 14 mm diameter solid round iron, hand-painted with a silver, gold, and copper metallic effect. The irons rise to form faces and then descend to sink into the ground. The work was created by COIMA under the direction of architect Elisa Boldi.

CICLO INFINITO ENDLESS CIRCLE BY GIULIA LAPENTA

Young artist Giulia Lapenta developed the 2025 theme of the Casato Prime Donne Award, which concerns Artificial Intelligence, sending a message of alarm and the hope of a cycle that begins and ends on our planet’s surface.

The art installation is conceived of five elements: the earth, the base, the iron rods connecting the base to the heads, and the heads and tails. Earth is the starting point, and from the earth emerges the base, which, with its cylindrical shape, symbolizes human evolution and the invention of the wheel. The heads represent AI and the attempt to recreate human intelligence, but the metal wires with which they are made of descend to the ground, indicating that artificial intelligence exists within a perpetual cycle.

“AI can reduce human creativity and create new pollution, but when we return to the earth, the earth wins,” explains the young artist, expressing her concerns. “I fear that AI will try to replace artists.” But when artificial intelligence reaches the earth, the cycle begins again. There is therefore hope for an ending that harmonizes humans, nature, and artificial intelligence.

2 September 2025

TRENDY TUSCAN CERAMICS

IN THE FLORENTINE AREA, FOR 600 YEARS, WATER, EARTH, AND FIRE HAVE BECOME ARTISTIC CERAMICS. NOT ANTIQUE DECORATIONS, BUT TRENDY AND TRADITIONAL SHAPES

Toscana Lovers, ceramiche per pinzimonio e olio EVO della Fattoria del Colle

Toscana Lovers ceramics cruet for EVO Oil from Fattoria del Colle

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

“Among the villages of the Val di Pesa, Valdelsa, and Val di Virginio is the workshop where our ceramics are born, nestled among the vineyards and hills,” says Sara Petreni, welcoming us to the Toscana Lovers shop in Siena, in Piazza Indipendenza, just a few steps from Piazza del Campo, where the Palio is run. “They are still made using the ancient techniques of the wheel, casting, and press, in a blend of styles. From country chic with dusty hues and shabby details to classic and contemporary. Hands that first draw and then shape the clay.” Sara shows the results of the ceramists’ patient work: bowls, plates, trays, jugs, cruets… the colours are typical of the Tuscan palette and landscapes. “Each shade is unique, created by the brush of a true artist who adds a touch of chiaroscuro, thus making the ceramic vibrate.”

The items for sale at Toscana Lovers appear to be of a new design, but instead they tell an ancient story.

26 August 2025

DARYA MAJIDI THE 4.0 WOMAN

DARYA MAJIDI, ITALIAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT FUND SINCE 2024, FOCUSES ON AI SKILLS TO COUNTER THE GENDER GAP

Darya Majidi Prime donna 2025 premiata a Montalcino

Darya Majidi Prima Donna 2025 awarded in Montalcino

The Casato Prime Donne Award 2025 is awarded to an extraordinary and visionary woman. An Italian-Iranian entrepreneur who has been fighting for years to increase the skills of women, especially young women, in artificial intelligence. Darya Majidi is the Woman 4.0 who believes in digital as a means to accelerate the path towards gender equality.

A few days ago Linkedin rated her among the 200 Top Voices in the world regarding AI. There are 4 Italians and Darya Majidi is the only woman. Fortune Italia listed her among the 50 Most Powerful Women in Italy and dedicated her to the cover of the October 2023 issue. In 2021, she was mentioned by D. di Repubblica as one of the 100 women who are changing the world, and in 2022, Io Donna by Corriere della Sera named her among the 10 women who are impacting Italy.

21 August 2025

Offer: two vintages, one passion for Rosso di Montalcino

Would you like this offer featuring two vintages of Rosso di Montalcino for €264.00 delivered directly to your home?

This offer focuses on Rosso di Montalcino, a wine appreciated for its fragrance and freshness! 10 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino from two vintages and two different sizes: the 2023 Rosso di Montalcino in a 0.750 Liter bottle and the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino in a 1.5 liter magnum (last bottles available).

🎁 together with the bottles you will find: a corkscrew with the logo of the Donatella Cinelli Colombini winery

New monthly offer with Rosso di Montalcino, Casato Prime Donne

What’s special about this offer?

This is a special opportunity to receive two Rosso di Montalcino wines from different vintages, made with Sangiovese from the organic vineyards of Casato Prime Donne belonging to Donatella Cinelli Colombini. The two sizes allow you to choose the occasion for which to open them. An ideal wine for the last days of summer and autumn, for aperitifs, lunches, dinners, and parties. For events with a few close friends, or for a real celebration! Extraordinary: the white-label bottles allow you to personalize a gift for friends or family with a special dedication!

🍇 Offer of the Month – For Donatella Club Members

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023, 0.75 litres

4 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino 2023 with customizable white label, 0.75 litres

2 Magnums of Rosso di Montalcino 2022, 1.5 litres

4 gift bags + 4 tissue papers + 4 package seals

1 personalized corkscrew

14 August 2025

EXTRAVIRGIN OLIVE OIL: TRUE AND IMPORTED

ONLY 28% OF THE EXTRA VIRGIN OIL SOLD IN ITALY IS PRODUCED IN OUR COUNTRY. OUT OF 900 THOUSAND TONS OF CONSUMPTION AND EXPORT OF EVO OIL, 600 THOUSAND ARE IMPORTED

Solo il 28% dell'extravergine consumato o esportato dall'Italia è veramente italiano

Only 28% of EVO oil consumed o exported from Italy is really Italian

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Casato Prime Donne

The data on EVO oil are impressive and reveal a bleak panorama. On one side, the Apulian olive groves destroyed by Xylella and the hilly ones abandoned due to lack of manpower. On the other side, a market unwilling to pay remunerative prices for Italian extra virgin olive oil made to the highest standards while the shop shelves are full of low-priced extra virgin olive oil from intensive olive groves in foreign countries.

The RTO Telematic Oil Registers show a stock of 190 thousand tons consisting of 71% EVO oil which is increasingly less Italian.

The Italian EVO oil production crisis does not seem to be stopping: plant diseases, adverse climate, abandonment of olive groves… the reasons are numerous but the results are devastating.

OUR NATIONAL PRODUCTION OF EVO OIL IS 28% OF WHAT WE NEED

Even the Italian olive harvest last autumn marked a drop of 90 thousand tons compared to the previous year. The production deficit is increasingly marked: we produce barely 240 thousand tons, that is 28% of what we need. Every year we need 850-900 thousand tons of which 550 for domestic consumption and 350 thousand tons for export. For this reason, agri-food industrialists source from Tunisia, Spain, Greece and other countries. Puglia in the South and Umbria in the Center are the nerve centres of storage.

31 July 2025

PINZIMONIO WITH HUMMUS

A FRESH, HEALTHY, VERY PLEASANT TUSCAN-MIDDLE EASTERN MIX FULL OF MULTI-ETHNIC SUGGESTIONS: THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND TUSCAN PEASANT BREAKFASTS WITH ARAB SNACKS

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

A fresh, healthy, pleasant Tuscan-Middle Eastern mix full of multi-ethnic suggestions: the vegetable garden and Tuscan peasant breakfasts with the flavour of Arab snacks

To be honest, the idea is not mine, I tasted this delicious appetizer in Campiglia d’Orcia during “Bianco di sera” an event organized by Elena Salviucci, president of the Strada del Vino Orcia, in one of the most panoramic and beautiful spots in Tuscany.

This is a pinzimonio, a typical peasant snack made with celery, fennel, cucumber, carrot, to be eaten after having dipped them in extra virgin olive oil. The novelty is the addition of chickpea hummus that is placed in the pinzimonio cups together with the oil.

8 July 2025