Mapping MONTALCINO

Wine buyers and expert tasters usually travel to Montalcino in winter to taste the latest releases during Benvenuto Brunello . However, recently two new events have started to bring Brunello lovers to town in early summer.  Tutto in un Sorso / Wine without Borders  reunites some of the most interesting producers of the natural wine world in Montalcino. Small, mostly family-run wineries from Italy and France will lead tastings of their natural wines at the Sant'Agostino church in Montalcino. For wine lovers with an ample budget, the Long Live Brunello wine fair (tickets from 500 Euro) will be of interest. For the first time, 35 Brunello wineries reunite to open some of their oldest bottles (starting with the 1968 vintage). It's going to be hard to find another event that will allow you to taste so many riservas in one place. The fair will end with a charity auction at the Bertarelli concert hall in Cinigiano.  Long Live Brunello : June 21 - 23, 2019. Tickets fr...

A wine fair in Montalcino that isn't just about Brunello? Now, that's a first! Tutto in un Sorso promises an exciting weekend and fresh wind for the lovely but rather autocentric  Tuscan town. Organized by Francesca Padovani and Marco Arturi from Montalcino's  Fonterenza winery , the first edition of Tutto in un Sorriso will showcase 47 organic and biodynamic wineries from every corner of Europe.  Wine lovers will recognize Foradori, Occhipinti and a few other shooting stars of the natural wine world. But with this fair, the real treat lies in discovering little-known European grape varieties and inspiring wines from small family-run vineyards. Labours of love which can't be easily found anywhere else in Italy!    Tutto in un Sorso Cloister of Sant'Agostino, Montalcino: June 3 and 4, 2018 Tastings from 11 am to 7 pm.  Entrance 15€ 

Sommeliers at Benvenuto Brunello 2016 Some important changes have taken place during the last few years in regard to Benvenuto Brunello. The Consortium of Brunello wine and its yearly fair are now located in the newly restored Sant Agostino complex (a beautiful former monastery in Montalcino's town center). But even more importantly, in 2017 access rules to the Brunello preview have been changed. It always used to be a press and trade fair, but producers got tickets they would share generously with friends or clients (see my Benvenuto post here ).  However, several winemakers told me that this will be no longer the case. From 2017, the rules are more similar to Verona's Vinitaly fair with producers having a minimum amount of tickets that grant free access to Benvenuto Brunello.  Hence, Brunello lovers no longer need to nice talk a winemaker for a voucher but can book their  Benvenuto Brunello ticket  directly from the Consortium (prices start at 15€ if yo...

The first week of April is the one time of spring that you don't want to be in Montalcino - or in any Italian wine town for that matter - since the majority of the country's winemakers won't be found in their vineyards but in Verona at Vinitaly, the Superbowl of Italian wine fairs.  For the rest of the month do come out. Above all if you're not just a wine drinker but also  a hobby photographer, watercolorist, hiker or wildflower lover. Va l d'Orcia in April is the proverbial explosion of colors, which will have its climax in May  before the landscape turns into hues of Sienna in the month of June.  GOOD TO KNOW Bring an umbrella. April is one of the rainiest months in Tuscany (hence all the colors). And i f you can, avoid Easter in Montalcino - Brunello town is a popular weekend destination for Northern Europeans and Italians who spend Pasqua away from home. Montalcino's town center and the famous Sant'Antimo abbey get very busy ...

The traditional olivewood disk throwing tournament in Camigliano During the first half of October, the  last crates of grapes are being brought in, and whilst most Brunello makers are busy with keeping  an eye on the fermenting grape juice, the harvest workers are  ready to celebrate the end of the picking  in one of Montalcino's beautiful villages.  With its roughly 40 inhabitants Camigliano is the smallest hamlet in Montalcino's municipality, but you wouldn't think so during the two days of the Sagra del Galletto  food festival, when half of Southern Tuscany's population seems to stand in line for a bite of grilled rooster  and a glass of Brunello land's famous red wine.  One more grilled rooster, please SAGRA DEL GALLETTO , CAMIGLIANO: OCTOBER 5/6 2013 20 minutes by car from Montalcino. Come early to see one of Montalcino's best sunsets. To  find out more about Camigliano, its festivals and its people, r ead Lisa Maria...

It may seem like a sacrilege, but for once skip the best Brunello wineries and head for a beer instead. But not just any beer. Only a proper Italian artisan beer should convince you to leave Tuscany's wine mecca behind for a night in Buonconvento. Montalcino's much less famous but very enchanting neighbor may not be known for world class wines - understandably so, being located at the bottom of the valley - but it definitely has a future when it comes to craft beer.  So for once don't drive uphill for Brunello tasting, but hop on a shuttle bus and meet Italy's and Belgium's microbreweries down in the valley at the VILLAGGIO DELLA BIRRA festival. The shuttle bus runs from San Quirico d'Orcia and Siena too. A great option for people who are planning to taste each single artisan beer. Or as an alternative bring your tent. The craft beer festival takes place in a beautiful villa near Buonconvento where  camping is an option too! Too much wine? Have a beer i...

With all the talk about the importance bees have for everything on this planet , it's a relieve to hear that Italy still counts  75'000 beekeepers.   Meet some of them in Montalcino this weekend in September and taste a few of the country's 51 official types of honey. Some of the most popular in Tuscany are chestnut, wildflowers and acacia (my favorite!). And no need to say it, they taste best on top of a piece of Pecorino cheese from the Val d'Orcia .  Beehives and olive groves in Tuscany  SETTIMANA DEL MIELE - BEEKEEPERS WEEKEND IN MONTALCINO Fortezza (fortress): September 6-8, 2013 Honey tasting daily from 9 to 7pm Visits with Montalcino's beekeepers are organized during the weekend.  Honey and beer? Worth a try! Follow up the beekeepers festival with an Italian artisan beer in Buoconvento . 

Italy is Europe's biggest producer of organic food. And the market is expanding. In Montalcino the trend is clearly visible with the growing number of wineries, which have moved on to organic or even biodynamic agriculture.  But the organic produce of the Val d'Orcia doesn't stop with wine. Vegetables,  Pecorino cheese  and even honey are organically certified. A good place to taste the locally grown produce is Montalcino's organic market which takes place once a month (usually on a Sunday, see dates for 2013 below).  The 2013 dates of the organic market in Montalcino

Spring in Montalcino means budbreak of the vines as  the earliest sign of a promising new vintage. But it also means countless foodie pleasures, even for the vegetarians between us. One of my favorite times in my Tuscan family is la baccellata - the moment when my father-in-law brings up the first broad beans from the garden and we eat them right away. The fresh pods (baccelli) are eaten raw paired with the first Pecorino cheese of the season, which is called Marzolino in reference to the month marzo (March). It looks like this:  Just add a glass of red wine: Baccelli beans and Marzolino  pecorino cheese

Italy's main truffle season is from October to January. But some lesser known fellows of the species keep growing all through winter, which is the foodie reason behind the March edition of the truffle fair in San Giovanni d'Asso (the autumn truffles can be tasted each year during a great fair on the first two November weekends). 2013 TARTUFO MARZUOLO (aka Bianchetto San Giovanni) SPRING TRUFFLE FAIR Saturday, 9th of March 11am opening of the food stalls 11,15am guided tour to a selection of artisan food producers in the Crete Senesi (on reservation only info@comune.sangiovannidasso.si.it or phone +39 0577 803268) 12,30pm Itinerario del Gusto - Foodie tasting tour: by one ticket to taste yor way through all the food stalls of the fair and meet San Giovanni's white March truffle in lot's of different preparations. 2,30pm Foodie Trekking: use and healing properties of wild herbs and salad greens. 5,30pm at the Castello (San Giovanni d'Asso's m...

With the wine world discussing the pros and cons of Brunello's 2008 vintage , the biggest surprise of this year's Benvenuto Brunello has been the five star rating awarded to the 2012 vintage , which will make its entrance on the wine stage in 2017.  Did anybody really expect a full five stars (the top vote) after such an incredibly difficult year? I'm no wine maker or tasting expert, but as the owner of a Tuscan vegetable garden I truly suffered my way through 2012's incredibly dry winter, spring and summer - in the company of my desperate looking greens and tomatoes. Luckily, vines react very differently to water shortage than your average vegetable or fruit, but still - five stars seem a lot.  Ready for tasting 2008 Brunello di Montalcino at Benvenuto Brunello 2013

Whilst Benvenuto Brunello 2013 is still in full swing with the wine trade tasting its way through Montalcino's wines today,  Montalcinonews  has already put together an informative video with the views of some of the world's top wine journalists on the 2008 vintage.  2008 vintage interview by Montalcinonews  The experts seem to agree that 2008 isn't an easy vintage, but one in which quality of Brunello wines varies from vineyard to vineyard. The (non official) sub-zones have played a big role and also the moment during which the grapes will have been harvested in September or October. 2008's climatic conditions meant that producing a great Brunello wasn't quite as 'easy' as in 2007.  On the positive side, 2008 is a back to the roots vintage, and a great year for Sangiovese lovers after the 2007 vintage, which has produced fantastic, but in many cases also atypical Brunellos.  Quality of wine may not be consistent between Montalcino's 250 pr...

Looking for the best way to kill time until Benvenuto Brunello is taking off by the end of February? Tasting my way through the preview of Vino Nobile di  Montepulciano the weekend beforehand normally does the trick for me. From the 16th to the 18th of February 2013 , wine trade and journalists are invited to meet the  Vino Nobile 2010 and Vino Nobile Riserva 2009  (register  here ). Both vintages have been awarded four stars out of five, which will ensure a pleasant weekend. The wines will be presented every day from 2pm to 6pm in Montepulciano's fortress (the location has recently been restored with the support of the town's vintners' association).  San Biagio church: Montepulciano's Renaissance jewel Close to Montalcino, Montepulciano has a lot in common with the home of Brunello . The two hill top towns have  beautiful historic centers,  host prestigious music festivals in summer and are impossible to access in high-heels. M...

American wine trade and members of the press who can't make it to Benvenuto Brunello 2013 may want to lick their wounds during an Italian wine tasting back at home.  From the 28th of January to the 3rd of February Slow Food and Vinitaly organize three tasting days in Miami, NYC and San Francisco to present the English edition of the Slow Wine guide. 

View toward Montalcino's fortress, location of the honey fair People visit Montalcino to taste fabulous reds at Brunello wineries or to listen to Gregorian chants at the stunning Sant'Antimo abbey. Others just want to drive through the rolling hills of the Val d'Orcia or have discovered Montalcino as an ideal location for a celebrity break . But that's not all. Every second weekend in September Montalcino hosts the annual honey fair (settimana del miele), during which producers from all over Italy present their natural honeys. The lack of rain and the hot temperatures of summer 2012 have created diffiulties for wine and honey producers alike. Get the background information whilst you taste yourself through some of Italy's best honeys (e.g. the rare erica honey or some of Northern Italy's fine mountain honeys).

Avid followers of this blog know that wine and music events abound in Montalcino during summer, and err yes, only in summer.  The event which is likely to close this year's festival frenzy is all about honey; the SETTIMANA DEL MIELE, which takes place on the second weekend of September.