Mapping MONTALCINO

Sunset at the Palazzone winery Tasting Brunello can be a daunting task, at least during the two hottest months of the year. When temperatures start to reach suffocating highs in July and August, only hard-core professionals will look forward to starting the day with a wine that often has an alcohol content of 14 % (let alone the even mightier Brunello Riserva). Most travelers would just ask for one more iced coffee, thank you, if it wasn't for, yes, Montalcino.  At Il Palazzone  - one of my  top ten wineries  to visit in Montalcino - Esther from Vino Vistas created a cool alternative to sticky Tuscan summer mornings spent spitting too warm wine: sunset tastings (I still can't believe that nobody has thought about it before!) . Swirl your wine at sundown and enjoy not just the gorgeous view but also a bit of a breeze. Montalcino isn't just known for Brunello, but also for its windy evenings, and you'll come to love them after a sizzling hot...

Summer Wine Notes at Castiglion del Bosco The Castiglion del Bosco winery opens the doors of its luxury estate to the north-east of Montalcino for wine tastings and Jazz concerts during the summer of 2017.  Enjoy golden hour at CdB with a glass of wine and good music or ask for a visit to the wine cellar. And if  you're not convinced by music and vino alone, you may be interested to hear that Montalcino's top luxury hotel is owned by Massimo Ferragamo and  Barack Obama played golf here during his time in Tuscany last May (he and Michelle stayed at Borgo Finocchieto not far from CdB). Summer Wine Notes: July 21 and August 18, 2017 Castiglion del Bosco winery - 7pm to 9 pm.  The tasting includes three wines - a Chardonnay and, of course, a Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino - and a buffet with Tuscan cold cuts, cheeses and starters.  Prize per person: 25€.  For details about the Jazz bands playing on the night have a look at Castiglion del Bosc...

In the summer of 1999 I arrived in Montalcino as a young Swiss woman traveling on her own. I expected beautiful views, great wines and sultry summer nights - but I had no idea that those nights would be accompanied by the soundtrack of a young and little-known Jazz festival with an incredible lineup.  Nearly two decades have passed and I'm still here, but many things have changed: I have two kids (with an Italian, of course), wrote a book  - music plays a big part in it too - about a side of Tuscany that is hardly known and Italy has been stuck for years in an economic crisis which saw harsh cuts to the funding of the country's cultural life. However, the first music festival I ever attended in Tuscany is still here and still going strong.  Founded in 1997, Montalcino Jazz & Wine celebrates its 20th anniversary this July. I'll be toasting along with lots of wine, as the week of world-class Jazz in Montalcino's medieval fortress has been making up for man...

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...

MONTALCINO JAZZ & WINE: July 12 to July 17, 2016 All concerts take place in Montalcino's medieval fortress with the exception of the first night when the Johnny O'Neal trio will open the festival in the courtyard of Castello Banfi on July 12. Concerts start at 9.45 pm. There is always space even for late arrivers at the fortress (Fortezza di Montalcino), but come early for the gig at Castello Banfi since space is more limited at the courtyard of the Banfi winery.   Johnny O'Neal (one of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers) live in New York . 

Montalcino jazz and wine 2015 The program of the 18th edition of Montalcino Jazz & Wine brings one of my favorite Italian musicians to Brunello town on the evening of the 17th of July. Sergio Cammariere may not be known as well as Paolo Conte out of Italy, but his music will definitely be enjoyed by the fans of the latter.  The seven concerts of the 2015 festival have something for every taste: two Saudade inspired nights on the 14th and 19th of July and an evening in the footsteps of Django Reinhardt with French gypsy jazz guitarist Angelo Debarre on July 16. Debarre also offers a master class on the afternoon of July 15 (contact  marketing@banfi.it  if you'd like to participate).  For bepop lovers the highlight of the music festival in Brunello town will be the Cookers on July 18. The American members of the septet look back on half a century of jazz music played in the company of the most famous names of the genre (Art Blakey, Sony Rollins, Din...

Montalcino's festival season hasn't started yet and we're still waiting for the release of the program of Jazz&Wine 2015. But with the longer days and warmer weather the first musicians are back in town. Sabrina Turri closed Montalcino's music season last autumn  at La Pieve and is reopening it this spring with a concert in the beautiful piazza of Sant'Angelo in Colle.  HOTEL RIF, SANT'ANGELO IN COLLE, WEDNESDAY MAY 27, 7 pm The concert is organized by restaurant il Leccio. Come early to enjoy the sunset view from the town walls of Sant'Angelo in Colle (the best in Montalcino) or to have dinner at restaurant il Leccio  before. If you're not going out on an ordinary weekday catch Hotel Rif on Sunday May 24 at Siena's Teatro dei Rozzi for a special performance commemorating Italy's involvement in the first world war together with writer Emilio Franzina. Or come to Cinigiano on lunch time on Saturday May 30, to start the weekend w...