Behind the vine
Donatella Cinelli Colombini - Fattoria del Colle & Casato Prime Donne - Tuscany
When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?
I was born into the world of wine, my family has land in Montalcino since the late 1500’s and has always produced wine.
What story does your wine tell?
My Brunello tells this story: in 1998 when I left my family’s estate my parents gave me two wineries in need of repair and some Brunello still in barrel. I needed a cellar master to rack, age, and bottle it, as I needed to finance the start up of my new estate. So I called the Oenology school in Siena, asking for a good student to hire as a cellar master. They answered that they had none; cellar masters had to be booked, years in advance. When I asked the same question, specifying however that I wanted a female cellar master, the answer changed. “Of course we have many as no winery will employ them”.
Realizing this discrimination was so old and deep rotted to become normal I decided that to change things it was necessary to prove that a winery does not need muscles and that women can bring it to success just as well, as men can. From this episode is born the “Prime Donne” project whose main aspect is the all female staffed winery, To begin with it was a real challenge. Today 23 years later we export to 39 nations with growing success and the ratings from the international wine press are excellent: we have 90 wines rated over 90/100
“I decided that to change things it was necessary to prove that a winery does not need muscles and that women can bring it to success just as well as men can.”
— Donatella Cinelli Colombini
What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?
They should forget drinking when they are feeling unwell, when they are depressed. In these cases the wine aggravates the problems and does not solve them.
What great things about wine do you think people should remember?
That wine is the noblest product on the earth; it changes from place to place and year to year. For this reason it is a continuous discovery. During travels it helps to understand the people of that Nation and their history. In everyday life wine helps to make new friends. In a couple’s life it helps to share emotions and unique moments.
What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?
To study, begin from the bottom with humbleness and to understand that professional success is not everything
Where can women find your wine?
They should email my winery here.