Donatella Cinelli Colombini left her family’s estate in 1998 to start her own, made up of Casato in Montalcino, and Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda. Along with the vineyards and with the farmhouses to be renovated, Donatella received a quantity of Brunello di Montalcino, and so she needed a cellar master to see to its barrel-ageing. She called the Enology School in Siena, asking for a good student to hire. They answered that they had none; cellar masters had to be booked years in advance. They mentioned, however, that they had many female cellar masters available, since no important winery wanted to employ them.

Project Prime Donne was born.

Montalcino’s Casato Prime Donne is a Brunello-exclusive winery. The property is made up of 40 hectares, 16 of which are planted to Sangiovese. There is also a modern, artistic, fresco-filled winery and ageing facility for the Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino wines. Donatella didn’t just hire a woman cellar master for the project. The entire staff are women, including the head winemaker, and Donatella has become a beacon for women in the wine industry, not only in Italy, but globally.

The project grows more meaningful with her Brunello di Montalcino Prime Donne. Donatella noticed that wine critics for the Italian wine guides were all men. She decided then to unite a small group of talented women wine professionals, asking them to blind taste future Brunello from different barrels, and to select the best lots. Every year since its inception, Rosemary George MW, German wine expert Astrid Schwarz, Italian sommelier and teacher Daniela Scrobogna, and Italo-American PR Marina Thompson gather to taste for the blend, choose the barrels, and determine the aging regime for that vintage.

Donatella considers the Brunello Prime Donne the flagship for her wineries.

See which wines are available at LCBO stores here.