NEW LOOK FOR THE CASATO PRIME DONNE WINE SHOP
The Casato Prime Donne winery in Montalcino has renovated its Tuscan-style store, made by Tuscan artisans and designed by Tuscan Lorella Salvi
The wine shop changes look
Faithful to her principles, Donatella Cinelli Colombini wanted the Casato Prime Donne to speak the area in which it is located. She hates “non-places”, i.e. environments that could be anywhere in the world and do not tell their own story. So, when she realized that her cellar store needed a restoration, she called Lorella Salvi from the OMIF company in Siena and asked her to <<reorganize this space for me using the style of the place, the local materials and the craftsmen of this area>>.
THE CASATO PRIME DONNE STORE
Lorella smiled but understood. She has been collaborating with Donatella for many years and designed the 3 stores for her: Tuscany Lovers in Siena, Bagno Vignoni and Cortona. For the Casato Prime Donne she therefore designed an environment of very Tuscan austere elegance: wooden shelves with pilasters and frames that recall the old pharmacies of the region, Carrara marble top as in the taverns and three ancient terracotta jars (obviously Tuscan) to support the counter and the glass surface on which to prepare the tastings. Some choices have been controversial such as those regarding the marble, which <<gets stained but when stained it becomes more seasoned and more real>>.
The overall effect is that of furniture “that has always been there” perfectly integrated with a stone farmhouse built over four hundred years ago. Above the wine shelves there are some ancient agricultural tools interspersed with ceramic panels that explain the origin of the name Montalcino from the Latin words Mons and Ilex which
wooden shelf, Casato Prime Donne
became Mons ilicini that is mount of holm oaks (cuercus ilex). The holm oak is the dominant essence in the woods of the Brunello area and was the main economic resource of the inhabitants until the eighteenth century. It was used to produce ceramics and to tan leather thanks to its tannin-rich bark.