Donatella Cinelli Colombini Tag

VINEYARDS AT CASATO PRIME DONNE (1)

THE SECRETS OF GREAT VITICULTURE, DRAWN FROM THE FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE OF A PRODUCER CRAFTING AN EXCEPTIONAL BRUNELLO BY LETTING THE GRAPES DO THE WORK- EVEN AS THE CLIMATE CHANGES

Sangiovese per il Brunello Donatella Cinelli Colombini Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

Sangiovese for Brunello Donatella Cinelli Colombini Casato Prime Donne Montalcino vineyards

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination

I began managing the vineyards at Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda and Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino in 1998, when my parents gifted me the two estates.

Across the two properties, there were about 25 hectares of old vineyards featuring many dead vines (gaps in the rows) and a multitude of grape varieties and Sangiovese clones—all mixed together and often of poor quality. Unfortunately, it is impossible to restore vineyards in such a state, so I had to uproot and replant them.

I adore centenarian vineyards and envy those who own them. The only old vineyard I managed to save is Sant’Antonio, planted in 1987; it is treated like a relic and tended to with great care… yet it is only forty years old.

I HAVE BEEN PLANTING VINEYARDS FOR 25 YEARS IN THE “GOLDEN CUP” OF BRUNELLO

The remaining vineyards at Casato Prime Donne have been replanted between 2000 and the present day. This process was carried out gradually—planting one or two hectares a year—and relied on a team of excellent vineyard workers led by two extraordinary, passionate “vignerons”: Efisio Luche and Davide Rinaldi. I recall that in 2015, when Denis Dubourdieu—the renowned and formidable professor from the University of Bordeaux’s oenology department—visited us and walked through every single vineyard, he said to Efisio: “Félicitations, vos vignobles sont impeccables.”

Casato Prime Donne is located in the northern Brunello zone, atop a 225-meter hill formed by the fragmentation of the larger Montalcino hill—a process that created the Montosoli rise and, right next to it, our own. In front lies a small valley carved by the Suga stream, which may well have been a river millions of years ago. It is a stunning, cup-shaped area that turns golden yellow after the harvest, thanks to the Sangiovese leaves—a landscape we might well call the “golden cup.”

11 August 2026

in Forum: News and lifestyle, Vines and wines

in Characters and places, Forum: News and lifestyle

RED WINE SERVED CHILLED IS BETTER

I ONCE SERVED MY BRUNELLO AT THE TEMPERATURE OF A HOT BROTH, AND I WAS MORTIFIED. YOU NEED TO USE AND ICE BUCKET FOR REDS TOO

Tormaresca Antinori -fichimori- vino rosso da bere fresco

Tormaresca Antinori -fichimori- red wine to be served chilled

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

Until a few years ago, the problem for us Brunello producers was bottles getting too cold in winter; however, global warming has reversed the situation. Now, the focus is on cooling the wine, as no one wants to serve it at a temperature that makes it resemble herbal tea. That is why using ice buckets—a practice once reserved for whites and rosés—has become common for reds as well. And I am not referring only to young wines that emphasize freshness, but also to great reds meant for aging.

RENOWNED SOMMELIERS AND WINEMAKERS ALIKE AGREE ON THE PRACTICE OF CHILLING WINES

A delightful article by WineNews discusses this trend, featuring insights from prestigious sommeliers such as Paolo Porfidio (Excelsior Hotel Gallia, Milan), Sebastien Ferrara (Enrico Bartolini al Mudec, Milan), and Marco Reitano (La Pergola by Heinz Beck, Rome).

10 August 2026

SANDRA MISALE PRIMA DONNA 2026

SANDRA MISALE RANKS AMONG THE WORLD’S LEADING CANCER RESEARCHERS. JOURNALISTS FRANCESCA CIANCIO AND ANDREA CUOMO, ALONG WITH 9 YOUNG TALENTS, WERE ALSO HONORED ALONGSIDE HER

Francesca Ciancio vincitrice del premio giornalistico Casato Prime Donne 2026

Francesca Ciancio winner of the Casato Prime Donne Award 2026 journalistic section

In Montalcino, on Saturday, September 19, the Casato Prime Donne Award honours Sandra Misale—a 41-year-old woman born in Calabria who now heads a laboratory bearing her name at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. If patients suffering from pancreatic or colon cancer, melanoma, or leukaemia can today hope for a more effective and less invasive treatment, they owe it in part to her.

The jury of the Casato Prime Donne Award—chaired by Donatella Cinelli Colombini and comprising Rosy Bindi, Anselma Dell’Olio, Anna Pesenti, Stefania Rossini, Anna Scafuri, and Daniela Viglione—selected Francesca Ciancio and Andrea Cuomo as the winners in the journalism categories for promoting Montalcino and its wines. Other awards went to nine young talents in the fields of music, art, jewellery making, and pastry arts.

4 August 2026

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

CASATO PRIME DONNE: A BRUNELLO WINERY—AND MUCH MORE (1)

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A WINERY THAT WILL SURPRISE YOU, COME TO CASATO PRIME DONNE. HERE, I WILL TELL YOU WHAT AWAITS YOU—BEYOND EXCEPTIONAL BRUNELLOS AND UNIQUE EXPERIENCES.

Montalcino 2018 Premio Casato Prime Donne con vincitrice Sara Gama

Montalcino 2018 Casato Prime Donne Award with winner Sara Gama

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

There is a common belief that all wineries are alike. To some extent, this is true, as many do resemble one another; after all, the types of barrels and fermentation tanks used are much the same everywhere. Consequently, architects have sought to arrange them aesthetically to create a “wow factor,” even though this often comes at the expense of winemaking itself. While a uniform row of identical vats may look more harmonious, it is rarely practical to have identical quantities of grapes to fill them. In most cases, winemaking vessels of varying sizes are required to keep grapes from different vineyards, grape varieties, and stages of ripeness separate.

30 July 2026

in Characters and places, Farm experiences

WHAT TOURISTS DON’T EXPECT AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE (2)

FEW COUNTRY ESTATES BOAST A HISTORY AS ANCIENT, NOBLE, AND ENTERTAINING AS FATTORIA DEL COLLE – AND TOURISTS GET TO LIVE RIGHT IN THE MIDST OF IT.

Toscana agriturismo Fattoria del Colle Camera del Granduca

Toscana agriturismo Fattoria del Colle Grand Duke’s chamber

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

Let us continue sharing the little secrets of Fattoria del Colle that surprise and delight tourists—the details that make a stay there unique, distinctive, and memorable.

The villa’s historic rooms and its chapel house true art masterpieces. The owner, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, is an art historian by background and spent years specializing in medieval goldsmithing. She owns just one piece created by 15th-century Sienese goldsmiths: a copper processional cross. The other artworks are casually interspersed with everyday objects throughout the historic rooms of the villa, where she still resides. Donatella has always lived surrounded by masterpieces; she has no desire to put them on display, preferring simply to enjoy their presence around her. Nevertheless, she is well aware of the risks posed by frequent tourist visits and the threat of theft, which is why Fattoria del Colle is protected by security cameras and alarm systems.

The Hall of Coats of Arms, the billiard room, and the fireplace room retain some of their original furnishings and house many curiosities—such as the list of chickens, brooms, and eggs that each farmstead was required to supply, the alarm bell cord hidden inside the clock, and antique white porcelain from Richard (the company that later became Richard Ginori).

28 July 2026

in Farm experiences

WHAT TOURISTS DON’T EXPECT AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE (1)

THE SECRET ROOMS AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE WINERY AND THE STORY OF THEIR SURPRISING DISCOVERY. WHY THIS IS A UNIQUE PLACE WHERE HISTORY BECOMES WINE

Toscana Vin Santo Fattoria_del_Colle_vinsantaia

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

First-time visitors to Fattoria del Colle often say, “It’s beautiful here—I wasn’t expecting this.” They are delighted to find themselves in a genuine, significant place that is nonetheless unpretentious and welcoming. It is a unique setting that moves them, allowing them to experience the Tuscan countryside in all its simplicity as well as its extraordinary, historic beauty.

Yet we are amazed by their amazement. All our communication is completely authentic; we take photos or videos almost every day, and our social media followers see exactly what is going on—without filters, without staging, and without even rearranging objects or furniture. That is simply who we are, and yet tourists are surprised when they arrive. Perhaps we don’t know how to take photos. Or maybe the habit of presenting an idealized image online—better than reality—is so widespread that encountering people like us, who show themselves exactly as they are, comes as a surprise.

16 July 2026

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

in Characters and places, Forum: News and lifestyle

DONATELLA BEGINS WORKING AT FATTORIA DEI BARBI

PECORINO CHEESE, CURED MEATS, HOSPITALITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS – THIS IS HOW DONATELLA’S PROFESSIONAL CAREER BEGAN, A TIME DURING WHICH SHE ALSO BECAME MOTHER WITH THE ARRIVAL OF VIOLANTE

Donatella at Fattoria dei Barbi

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

DONATELLA BEGINS WORKING AT FATTORIA DEI BARBI

Tired of playing the role of the supportive wife and doing the cooking, I decided to ask my mother, Francesca, if I could work for the family business; she assigned me the task of managing the dairy, the cured meats production, the restaurant, inbound tourism, and media relations.

Meanwhile, our daughter Violante was on the way. There hadn’t really been a conscious decision to have a baby, either. My husband, Carlo, kept putting it off because he didn’t want to change our life as a couple, but then we went to Mexico; I caught “Montezuma’s Revenge”—traveller’s diarrhoea—which shifted my cycle, and I ended up pregnant. After a perfect pregnancy, Violante was born in the small hospital in Montalcino. She is the only member of the family born in the land of Brunello.

I arrived at the hospital at eight o’clock, and half an hour later, Violante was born. While most newborns are wrinkled, she was so beautiful she looked almost unreal. At first, she just ate and slept, but then our nights became a nightmare. When she finally slept for eight hours straight at the age of two, Carlo and I rushed to her crib to see what had happened. It was an experience that sealed our decision to let her remain an only child.

13 July 2026

in Characters and places, Forum: News and lifestyle

DONATELLA: THE UNCONVENTIONAL WIFE

DONATELLA ASKED HER FUTURE HUBAND TO MARRY HER AND THEY WENT ON TO SHARE A HAPPY MARRIAGE. NINE MONTHS IN LILLE, FRANCE, FOLLOWED BY LIFE IN 9 ITALIAN CITIES....

6 July 2026

DONATELLA AS A CHILD

I WAS A LONER, A TERRIBLE STUDENT, AND AN AVID READER. I WITNESSED THE TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE TRANSFORM FROM A STATE OF ABANDONMENT TO A RENAISSANCE DRIVEN BY WINE AND TOURISM

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

Donatella e la madre Francesca Colombini

Donatella and her mother Francesca Colombini

Many refer to the twentieth century as the “Short Century”—a term coined by British historian Eric Hobsbawm—due to the rapid pace of change; yet, in the early 1960s, it felt as though one were living in a nineteenth-century bubble. It was a world precariously balanced between the lingering past, the economic boom that was emptying the countryside, and social rituals that seemed destined to last forever—only to be swept away by the events of 1968.

As a young girl, I used to spend summers in Montalcino playing with the children of the neighbouring farmers, who would run around barefoot. In winter, back in Florence, boys and girls attended separate classes at the Ponte a Mensola elementary school; we girls wore white smocks with pink bows at our collars. Traffic and crime were low, and we children would walk home alone.

2 July 2026

DONATELLA’S HOUSE IN GOZO

Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s hose in gozo, Malta

AN OLD STONE HOUSE WITH A BREATHTAKING VIEW OF MALTA AND AN INDOOR COURTYARD FOR DONATELLA’S HOLIDAYS. LOTS OF TRADITION, BUT ALSO WIFI AND AIR CONDITIONING.

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

Donatella’s house in Gozo boasts a breathtaking view of the strait that separates the island from Malta. This stretch of sea is frequented by ferries, cruise ships, fishermen, and yachts… sailing around the small island of Comino, with its romantic blue lagoon and the tower where The Count of Monte Cristo was filmed.

30 June 2026

FATTORIA DEL COLLE’S WEDDINGS IN 2026

ONLY VERY LARGE AND TRADITIONAL PLACES ALLOW COUPLES TO HAVE A UNIQUE WEDDING, DIFFERENT FROM ALL OTHERS, FULL OF ROMANCE AND BEAUTY.

tavola imperiale per un pizza party Fattoria del Colle matrimonio in Toscana

Pizza party at Fattoria del Colle-Tuscan style wedding

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

This year, Fattoria del Colle is hosting 17 weddings, all different and all beautiful.

Some are minimalist, others boasted spectacular floral arrangements and displays.

We’ve had couples with photographers and set designers, Instagrammers, videographers, and a whole repertoire of sun glasses, dresses, and decorations to create images to post online. Others asked for absolute privacy, even from their guests, to preserve the intimacy of the most beautiful day of their love.

WHY WEDDINGS AT FATTORIA DEL COLLE ARE ALL UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT

There are many ways to organize your wedding in a large venue with diverse and evocative spaces for the ceremony, aperitifs, dinner, cake cutting, and the closing party. At Fattoria del Colle, all couples have left happy and feeling like they’ve experienced a unique moment, uniquely theirs and unlike any other.

Of course, there are some places no one wants to miss out on, like the panoramic terrace above the winery. The Corten railing, reminiscent of the oak trees of the Val d’Orcia, frames a landscape of extraordinary beauty, and all newlyweds choose it for the ceremony or aperitifs. Another must-have, no one wants to miss out on, is the barn, restored a few years ago. The large windows feature state-of-the-art glass that keeps out sound, so you can dance until the wee hours without disturbing anyone. The light fountains, the harmonious architecture, the bar tender counter and the perfect air conditioning complete a very Tuscan atmosphere but perfect for parties.

25 June 2026

in Not only wine...

Offer: Pure Sangiovese for your summer parties!

Donatella Cinelli Colombini Wine Club Offer: Brunello di Montalcino 2021 and Brut Rosé Metodo Classico 2020 from Tuscany.

Do you want three bottles of Brunello 2021 and three bottles of Spumante 2020 delivered directly to your home for €237.00?

This offer combines two wines made exclusively with Sangiovese, two wines for summer dinners: a young Brunello for roast meats, aged cheeses, or flavorful pasta dishes, and a Spumante Rosé Metodo Classico for fish, chicken salads, fresh cheeses, pizza, and relaxing moments with friends.

Two great wines that transform every sip into a special moment, rejuvenating your taste buds and rejuvenating your soul.

With these two wines, your summer parties will have true Tuscan style!

18 June 2026

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

TOSCANA LOVERS OPENS IN FLORENCE

THERE ARE NOW 4 “TOSCANALOVERS” BOUTIQUES WITH THE BEST TUSCAN CRAFTSMANSHIP FOR THE HOME WITH THE NEW FLORENCE STORE IN PIAZZA DEL DUOMO

Toscana Lovers Firenze

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

The new Toscana Lovers store opens in Florence, in the Palazzo dei Canonici di Santa Maria del Fiore, on the left side of Piazza del Duomo.

TUSCANA LOVERS IN FLORENCE IN A HISTORIC AND BEAUTIFUL LOCATION

The monumental entrance features columns and 19th-century statues celebrating Arnolfo di Cambio, who designed the Duomo in 1296, and Filippo Brunelleschi, who designed the dome (1436), one of the most extraordinary works of the Renaissance. The Palazzo dei Canonici was built in the early 19th century by demolishing pre-existing buildings. Inside, the painted ceiling and walls were created for the visit of Pope Pius IX in 1857. After consecrating four Tuscan bishops, the Holy Father stopped here to receive the clergy and have his foot kissed. This visit also coincided with the laying of the cornerstone of the new façade of Santa Croce, one of the great religious projects of 19th-century Florence.

A space that for years housed the Duomo ticket office, so beautiful that it has required furnishings specifically designed by interior designer Lorella Salvi and handcrafted by the Siena-based firm OMIF. The walls, ceilings, and doors are protected as historical monuments. The result is extraordinarily elegant, as if it had always been there.

13 May 2026

HOW THE FINE WINES MARKET IS CHANGING

IS A GENERATIONAL CHANGE ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN THE DECLINE IN INTEREST IN INVESTMENT WINES? WITH THE END OF THE SPECULATIVE BUBBLE, IS IT NECESSARY TO GO BACK TO DRINKING FINE WINES?

Hedonism London cult store for fine wines

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

Fine wines are investment wines, managed like stocks, diamonds, or stamps. They’re wines that aren’t drunk but rather stored in safes to be resold at a higher price. This market is currently experiencing significant difficulties, especially for French wines, which traditionally dominate the market.

THE DRINKS BUSINESS IN SEARCH OF THE DARK EVIL OF FINE WINES

The Drinks Business interviewed some of the leading experts in this sector, first and foremost Liv-ex, a British portal similar to Nasdaq. The latter provides real-time charts, technical analysis, components, and quotes for stocks, while Liv.ex does the same for fine wines. I quote Max Lalondrelle’s exact words: “There’s something fundamentally wrong with the way we sell fine wines right now.”

What is this mistake? Those who buy a wine on reservation and then see it arrive on the market at a lower price get angry and realize that paying in advance isn’t worth it. This is why the speculative system has broken down and investments have fallen.

1 May 2026