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“Us women are mothers, not by choice but by nature, and we want to bring this approach to our project”.

These are the words of Maria Giulia Frova, owner of Tenuta Il Corno in San Pancrazio (San Casciano), as she tells WeChianti about the project created by the association she has been part of for fifteen years.

On Thursday 17th January, she was confirmed as the guide of “Le Donne del Vino della Toscana” (Tuscan Wine’s Women) at Villa Le Corti.

Maria Giulia Frova, owner of Tenuta Il Corno

She has been the delegate for Tuscany for a year and a half. Maria Giulia and her sisters are registered in the national association Le Donne del Vino, born in 1988 on the initiative of Elisabetta Tognana, who promotes wine culture and the role of women in the wine sector and in society.

“The vineyard is female and the wine is male – she says with a smile – and us women and mothers are the ones to take care of the fruits of nature, using our different skills to achieve common goals, not only in the wine production sector, but giving voice to women in society”.

Le Donne del Vino, a non-profit association, chaired by Donatella Cinelli Colombini, today gathers about 750 wine producers, restaurateurs, wine-makers, sommeliers, journalists and experts, from all the regions of Italy.

In Tuscany, with Maria Giulia there are over eighty members that work closely, developing not only events related to their own sector, but also charity events aimed at the sustainable development of agricultural territories.

“Every year – explains Maria Giulia – our association focuses on specific issues. Last year, for example, our project’s theme was combining wine with cinema, while this year it will be women, wine and design”.

In the last few months the efforts of Maria Giulia and all the Italian associates of Le Donne del Vino aimed at targeting the issue of violence against women, with a fundraiser dedicated to the disappearance of Donatella Briosi, one of their “sisters”.

Funds of over € 10,000 were donated entirely to two associations that protect women who are victims of violence in Friuli Venezia Giulia, the very same region where Donatella lived and was killed.

“We are still upset – says Maria Giulia – for what happened to our partner, a great sommelier and an exceptional woman. Our association works together with all the other ones whose aim is to put an end to these atrocities, once and for all”.

Still on the subject, Maria is now planning an event with dinner and a wine auction, whose proceeds will be donated to the Florentine Artemisia association, an anti-violence centre that offers practical and free help to victims of all types of violence, especially women and minors.

Furthermore, Le Donne del Vino links with similar associations operating all over the world, encouraging shared events, training and educational trips.

Cosimo Ballini

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