Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Born into a historic family of Brunello di Montalcino producers and with a degree in Medieval Art History, Donatella Cinelli Colombini is considered one of Italy’s most important and best known ‘Women of Wine’, chairing the eponymous National Association from 2016 to 2022. In 1998, she founded her own company that includes, amongst other wineries, Casato Prime Donne, the first in Italy with an all-female staff.
Her work as a producer and promoter of viticulture and wine, alongside initiatives such as the ‘Wine Tourism Movement’ and ‘Open Cellars’ (she has been an organiser of both since 1993), “has always been dedicated to the landscape and its aesthetics”, says the Jury of the Civiltà del Vino Prize. She is the author of five guide books and teaches Wine Tourism in Masters courses at the universities of Bologna and Florence and at Lumsa in Rome.
