My mother, Donna Elvira, was a strong, hot-headed Italian with a huge heart that she wore on her sleeve. She was the core of our family. My father was Austrian, a reserved man of few words. My belief is he never got over the Second World War, it was something he never wanted to talk about. He taught me the meaning of respect and hard work. They met in the UK in the 1950’s, married and spent the next thirty years working hard and saving money. They eventually retired to Italy to grow and eat organic produce and enjoyed a simple, slower pace of life where the sun shone 250 days a year. At this time, I was twenty and my brother was fifteen.
I had kept in contact with a beautiful English girl, Kay, and after a couple of years writing love letters to each other she moved to join me in Italy. We got married and had two wonderful children, Sara and Turi.
I can still vividly remember the first time I tasted Aglianico wine. The smells and colours around me, convinced me that is what I wanted wine to taste like, that moment has remained with me as it does today.
Mia madre, Donna Elvira, era un’italiana forte e calda con un cuore enorme che portava sulla manica. Era il cuore della nostra famiglia. Mio padre, Artur, era un austriaco, un uomo riservato di poche parole. La mia convinzione è che non abbia mai superato la seconda guerra mondiale, era qualcosa di cui non voleva parlare. Mi ha insegnato il significato del rispetto e del duro lavoro. Si sono conosciuti nel Regno Unito negli anni ’50, si sono sposati e hanno trascorso i successivi trent’anni lavorando sodo e risparmiando denaro. Alla fine si sono ritirati in Italia per coltivare e mangiare cibo biologico e pollame e hanno goduto di un ritmo di vita semplice e più lento, dove il sole splendeva 250 giorni all’anno. A quel tempo avevo vent’anni e mio fratello quindici.
Ero rimasta in contatto con una bellissima ragazza inglese, Kay, e dopo un paio d’anni scrivendoci lettere d’amore si è trasferita per raggiungermi in Italia. Ci siamo sposati e abbiamo avuto due figli meravigliosi, Sara e Turi.
È ancora vivido in me il ricordo di quando assaggiai la prima volta il vino Aglianico. Era morbido al palato, dall’odore intenso, con sfumature rosso rubino…la piacevole sensazione che ne derivò da quel bicchiere di vino, mi convinsero che avrei voluto condividere questa piacevole sensazione con un pubblico vasto, per questo decisi di voler produrre un pregiato Aglianico!
Time went by, the children got older, and we realised there was something like a magnet pulling us back to the UK, where both myself and Kay were born. So, in 1995, we came back. After a period of readjustment, we were fortunate to have built up a successful business thanks to modern construction methods which I had learnt whilst working in Germany and Rome.
We never really forgot our time living in the Campania region of Italy. The land that Sophocles called the land of Bacchus God of Wine and the Romans called Campania Felix, or the fertile lands, stretching from Mount Miletto, 2050 meters above sea level to the beautiful Amalfi Coast. So, for family and life reasons we decided to go back and finish our love story with Campania.
In 2010 we bought our first lands in the sweet spot for these grapes: 400-450m above sea level, south-facing. We cleared the land of the boulders from the volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius and Vulture of the late stone ages. We lovingly planted our first vines and spent the next ten years pruning, tying, cleaning them and more importantly, learning, the same way you learn when you have your first child.
Today we are humble and proud to present our first wines that were made from our love of this land.
Thank you to my family who always supported me, my cousin Pino who put this idea in my head, and Mirco without whom this would never have been possible.
Tony Fink MMXX
Il tempo è passato, i bambini sono cresciuti e ci siamo resi conto che c’era qualcosa simile ad una calamita che ci riportava nel Regno Unito, dove io e Kay siamo nati. Quindi, nel 1995, siamo tornati. Dopo un periodo di riadattamento, siamo stati fortunati ad aver costruito un’attività di successo grazie a metodi di costruzione moderni che avevo appreso lavorando in Germania ea Roma.
Non abbiamo mai veramente dimenticato il nostro tempo vissuto in Campania. La terra che Sofocle chiamava la terra di Bacco, dio del vino e dei romani, la Campania Felix, ovvero la fertile terra, che si estende dal Monte Miletto, a 2050 metri sul livello del mare, alla bellissima Costiera Amalfitana. Così, per motivi familiari e di vita, abbiamo deciso di tornare indietro e concludere la nostra storia d’amore con la Campania.
Nel 2010 abbiamo acquistato i nostri primi terreni nel punto dolce per queste uve: 400-450m slm, esposto a sud. Abbiamo ripulito la terra dai massi dalle eruzioni vulcaniche del Vesuvio e del Vulture della tarda età della pietra. Abbiamo piantato amorevolmente le nostre prime viti e abbiamo trascorso i dieci anni successivi a potarle, legarle, pulirle e, cosa più importante, imparare, nello stesso modo in cui impari quando hai il tuo primo figlio.
Oggi siamo umili e orgogliosi di presentare i nostri primi vini nati dal nostro amore per questa terra.
Grazie alla mia famiglia che mi ha sempre sostenuto, a mio cugino Pino che mi ha messo in testa questa idea e Mirco senza il quale questo non sarebbe mai stato possibile.
Tony Fink MMXX
My mother, Donna Elvira, was a strong, hot-headed Italian with a huge heart that she wore on her sleeve. She was the core of our family. My father, Artur, was an Austrian, reserved man of few words. My belief is he never got over the Second World War, it was something he never wanted to talk about. He taught me the meaning of respect and hard work. They met in the UK in the 1950’s, married and spent the next thirty years working hard and saving money. They eventually retired to Italy to grow and eat organic food and poultry and enjoyed a simple, slower pace of life where the sun shone 250 days a year. At this time, I was twenty and my brother was fifteen.
I had kept in contact with a beautiful English girl, Kay, and after a couple of years writing love letters to each other she moved to join me in Italy. We got married and had two wonderful children, Sara and Turi.
I can still vividly remember the first time I tasted Aglianico wine. The smells and colours around me, convinced me that is what I wanted wine to taste like, that moment has remained with me as it does today.
Time went by, the children got older, and we realised there was something like a magnet pulling us back to the UK, where both myself and Kay were born. So, in 1995, we came back. After a period of readjustment, we were lucky to have built up a successful business thanks to modern construction methods which I had learnt whilst working in Germany and Rome.
We never really forgot our time living in the Campania region of Italy. The land that Sophocles called the land of Bacchus God of Wine and the Romans called Campania Felix, or the fertile lands, stretching from Mount Miletto, 2050 meters above sea level to the beautiful Amalfi Coast. So, for family and life reasons we decided to go back and finish our love story with Campania.
In 2010 we bought our first lands in the sweet spot for these grapes: 400-450m above sea level, south-facing. We cleared the land of the boulders from the volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius and Vulture of the late stone ages. We lovingly planted our first vines and spent the next ten years pruning, tying, cleaning them and more importantly, learning, the same way you learn when you have your first child.
Today we are humble and proud to present our first wines that were made from our love of this land.
Thank you to my family who always supported me, my cousin Pino who put this idea in my head, and Mirco without whom this would never have been possible.
Tony Fink MMXX
We have a great team who is enthusiastic and passionate about winemaking
Mirco Colella, a graduate in Agricultural Science and Technology with an Ecological-Environmental specialisation from the University of Naples Federico II, has contributed significantly to the birth of the Donna Elvira Estate. Thanks to the experience gained in his professional activity as an agronomist consultant for various wineries across the Campania Region, he has directed and advised the Fink family in commercial investments and options.
A specialist who has brought desire and determination in every phase of the company’s formation, from identifying sites suited to quality viticulture in the various production areas of DOC and DOCG wines, to the choice of varieties to be planted, from the preparation of land, plant management and the organisation and training of the Donna Elvira Team. An imperative member of our Donna Elvira family, whose work cannot be easily defined. Since 2018 he has collaborated in the conception, branding and design of the Donna Elvira winery, of which he is today the General Manager.
In addition to the intense passion and dedication for the work he does, Mirco Colella has always been engaged on the social front: he has participated in various volunteering activities both in Italy and abroad namely in Romania, Sri Lanka, and India.
Mirco Colella laureato in Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie con indirizzo Ecologico-Ambientale, presso l’ Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, ha contribuito in maniera determinante alla nascita della Tenuta Donna Elvira. Grazie all’esperienza maturata nell’attività professionale come consulente agronomo di diverse aziende vitivinicole della Regione Campania, ha indirizzato la famiglia Fink nelle scelte aziendali e negli investimenti da realizzare.
Uno specialista che si è occupato con desiderio e determinazione di ogni fase della formazione dell’ azienda, dall’ individuare i siti vocati alla viticoltura di qualità nei diversi areali di produzione dei vini DOC e DOCG, alla scelta delle varietà da impiantare, dalla preparazione dei terreni, alla gestione degli impianti e all’organizzazione e formazione del Team Donna Elvira. Una figura molto trasversale quindi, il cui lavoro non è possibile racchiudere così facilmente in una sola e unica definizione. A partire dal 2018 ha collaborato all’ ideazione e progettazione della cantina Donna Elvira, della quale oggi è direttore generale.
Oltre all’ intensa passione e dedizione per il lavoro che svolge, Mirco Colella è da sempre impegnato sul fronte sociale: ha partecipato a diverse attività di volontariato sia in Italia che che all’estero (Romania, Sri Lanka, India, etc.).
Arturo is an enthusiast of wine and winemaking processes, with a passion for plant physiology, ecology, sociology, technology, sport, music and hedonism.
Active in the field of research and experimentation in viticulture and winemaking thanks to collaborations with research institutes and universities for the development of projects on the theme of sustainability, the environmental impact of company production systems and the effects of water scarcity and climate change on the vegetative-productive performances of vines and on the quality of wines, in the Campania region foremost.
Arturo works with local wineries and winemakers as an agronomic consultant and oenologist with the task of helping to define corporate strategies and maintain the integration of productive activity in rural areas, whilst ensuring the brand is kept technologically responsive.
Skilled in managing and motivating varied work groups to pursue their vision in implementing oenological projects.
Arturo prides himself in my knowledge of raw materials, winemaking processes and companies operating in the wine sector. His excellent interpersonal skills mean he is always ready to establish cooperative methods and relationships to pursue the set goals.
We believe that the key to successful winemaking is teamwork, and we have assembled a team with unmatched experience and passion.
Our mission is to create natural products that embody traditions and peculiarities of the wonderful land of Irpinia, with its fruitful and pure green lands and its many native grape varieties.
We give the greatest attention to every phase of the productive process, until the bottling of our wines and olive oils.
We’ve chosen to do this the hard way, with daily sacrifice and commitment.
