A faint glimmer of hope is creeping into my heart these days: the coronavirus measures in Austria, Germany and Italy are being gradually eased or lifted. And now it even seems possible that the border between Austria and Italy will be opened this summer! In other words, even if I wasn't able to sit face to face with Emilia and Giovanni d'Orsi from the Casaloste winery this time, I sincerely hope that I will be able to see my beloved Panzano and all my friends again in the foreseeable future. Until then, however, I'll have to satisfy my longing with phone calls, video calls etc. and will let you share my conversations for as long as I can under #SehnsuchtChiantiClassico.

Fattoria Casaloste: The organic pioneers of Panzano in Chianti

Casaloste's motto "La piccola fattoria dei grandi vini" - the small winery with the great wines - actually describes the estate perfectly: Emilia and Giovanni Battista d'Orsi are the owners of the 19 hectares of land in the hills of Panzano in Chianti. Emilia and Giovanni, who is a trained agronomist and oenologist, actually come from Naples. But during a visit to Chianti Classico, they discovered Casaloste and fell in love with this little corner of the world.

So they bought the vineyard, moved to Panzano and from then on put all their passion into producing organic wines and building up their small but beautiful agriturismo. The result: around 60,000 bottles of wine of the highest quality are produced here every year and you can spend perfect vacation days in this typical Tuscan estate - pool under olive trees and family connection included.

Casaloste: Positive in Corona times

As Emilia and Giovanni are both from Naples, their families also live there, over four hours away by car. Even in "normal times" that is a considerable distance, but in times of Corona it is an almost insurmountable distance. So they have resorted to other means. Emilia explains: "My mother is 86 years old and lives near Naples. At Christmas, when we celebrated together, my siblings and I gave her a smartphone. Incidentally, that was the last time I saw her 'in real life'. Mom was a little surprised about our gift," Emilia smiles, "But sometimes you do the right thing without knowing it." Thanks to the smart Christmas present, Emilia was able to stay in touch with her mother during the difficult days of the coronavirus lockdown. Despite initial difficulties, the sprightly 86-year-old learned how to use technologies such as touchscreens and video calls. "We often laughed tears together when we tried to make a video call with my mother because something wasn't working. But in the end, it worked and brought us a little closer together despite the physical distance," Emilia looks back. 

The d'Orsi family in Panzano in Chianti

Emilia and Giovanni have three children: Vincenzo lives in Florence and occasionally enjoys the benefits of "Hotel Mama". Federico was studying in Paris at the time of the lockdown. He caught one of the very last flights back home. And the couple's daughter, Maria Giovanna, who actually lives and works in London, also grabbed her computer and came home on one of the last flights. Since then, she has been working from Casaloste. "It's a great relief to know that the children are close to us and therefore safe," says Emilia happily.

Thankfully, the number of new coronavirus infections in the Tuscany region has now stabilized at just a few per day. Similar to Austria and Germany, Tuscany is now also allowing regional restrictions to be eased: restaurants have been allowed to reopen and welcome guests for a few days now. However, some are deciding not to open because it is not economically viable. And unlike Austria, there is no state support for businesses in Italy. Only time will tell what scars - or wounds - COVID-19 will leave on the Italian and European economy. 

70 days of lockdown in Italy

I can still vividly remember meeting Emilia at the Chianti Classico Collection in February - before all the corona madness had begun: We tasted the Chianti Classico 2017 together - undoubtedly one of my trade fair highlights. (But more on that later. Spoiler alert: the Casaloste wines are already on their way to me!)

At the end of February - when the situation in Lombardy was already beginning to come to a head - Emilia traveled to her importers in the USA. At that time, the virus was not an issue there - something far away in China and a little bit in Italy. But on March 11, just five days after Emilia's return flight from the USA, hectic, panicky scenes from Chicago airport could be seen on television. Emilia says: "It was all very surreal. I no longer recognized the place where I had stood five days earlier, where everything was still completely normal."

And now, after 70 days of hard lockdown in Italy, her business partners in L.A., New York and Chicago are reporting on sometimes dramatic conditions that you don't hear about in Europe and that you don't really want to imagine, she says. "Sure, those 70 days in Italy without family, without friends, without really being allowed to leave the house - that was a time that will leave scars. But better a scar than the wounds that are currently developing in the USA. And in terms of a human life, 70 days is a piece of cake." 

Return to life

At least the market in Panzano took place again for the first time on Saturday and Mimmo set up his tables on the market square again and you could have an aperitivo. You also "only" have to queue in front of the supermarkets for a quarter of an hour instead of a full hour to do your shopping. And because Italians are finally allowed to leave their own four walls again, many are drawn to the beaches.

This situation has given rise to a new trend: The trikini - a three-piece bikini consisting of a bottom, top and matching face mask. Wearing a mask is compulsory on the beaches. So no "normality" in sight yet - but at least another small step towards a return to life.

The fruits of our labor: the new Chianti Classico vintage

After my conversation with Emilia about the lockdown and how the family has fared, I chatted a little with Giovanni about the new Chianti Classico vintage from Casaloste. The 2017 Chianti Classico at Casaloste was actually produced under "difficult" conditions: Frost in May, which caused a lot of damage. A dry and hot summer. Rain during the harvest. In other words, all things that are not conducive to the quality of the wine. And so it was feared that, after such outstanding vintages in 2015 and 2016, we would be dealing with a "sagging vintage". But despite all fears, the 2017 Chianti Classico is wonderful - not to say fantastic! Giovanni himself says: "This is an elegant, harmonious and very, very accessible wine." And this accessibility was also immediately apparent to me and I was delighted.

And as I said, the Chianti Classico from Casaloste - as well as some other Casaloste wines that I already have in my range - have been (re)ordered and are on their way to me. I'm already looking forward to opening and enjoying another bottle soon.

Giovanni and Emilia are confident that, despite the general crisis situation, at least everything will work out for a successful 2020 vintage. And who knows: perhaps the wine produced in this year of crisis will be a small plaster for the wounds left behind by the 70-day lockdown. Sure: a drop of red wine on a hot stone - but an excellent one!

In terms of tourism, it remains to be seen how the summer and fall will develop. Perhaps there will even be a small, different form of Vino al Vino - we'll see. And I'll definitely keep you up to date if anything new comes up.