Wine Travel

Wine Bars of Rome...

St. Peter’s Cathedral sits near the Tiber River in Vatican City in the center of Rome...

Paris may well take first place as the most beautiful city in the world, but Rome has a firm grip on the prize for the most interesting. One could easily spend a month in Rome and just scratch of surface of all the things to see and do. From the ruins of the Roman Empire to the art treasures found within the Vatican Museum, it has always been, and will always be, a living history book and the proverbial Eternal City.

On this particular journey we will visit a few of the many wine bars of Rome. Wine has always played an integral role in Italy. Most Italians drink at least some wine on a daily basis, and almost no Italian dinner can be considered complete without it. Logically, one would then think that Rome has a plethora of wine bars (or as Italians call them, enotecas). Surprisingly, not until recently has the idea of the wine bar, that is, an establishment first emphasizing the drinking of wine, and food as a secondary priority to wine, gained wide acceptance. Of course, Rome has always had a few traditional enotecas, but it’s just been within the past ten years or so that they have sprouted-up in weed-like numbers.

Our trip includes visits to both the traditional and avant-garde wine bars, and then describes some of the many intriguing sights to see in Rome while seeking out wine establishments. At the end of the article, I make a recommendation for accommodation for those planning their own travel (the Hotel Gea). I have tried to include wine bars from around the city, so that a visitor may play the roles of wine taster and sightseer simultaneously.

The friendly staff at Enoteca Antica...

Compared to the Cul de Sac, the Antica seems downright spacious. The outdoor patio area makes for great dining during warm weather. Enoteca Antica’s location near the ritzy Piazza di Spagna area and the Via Condotti luxe shopping street makes it a good destination to wine or dine after blowing your budget. You may need more than a glass of wine once you have added up the receipts from any shopping spree on the Via Condotti.

First opened in 1998, Gusto represents a completely different type of establishment. Brash, modern and chic, it has become a preferred wine tasting and dining spot for Rome’s hipsters. Soaring ceilings, wooden floors, modern art, brick walls and indirect lighting all combine to give Gusto a contemporary style reminiscent of a high-end ritzy American bar. Gusto bills itself as a restaurant, enoteca and cheese shop. The wine bar is attached to the restaurant, but in a much smaller space. Each day Gusto stages an extraordinary happy hour, artfully setting out trays of fresh appetizers free of charge for its customers. Pizza constitutes the restaurant’s specialty, although the menu lists many other Italian dishes as well. Considering the swank surroundings, the prices are not out of control.

The wine list includes many wines from around the world, with a surprisingly large selection of wines from California. However, the wine by-the-glass list seems quite limited, with only about 15 different selections ranging in price from 10-12 euros. Ordering a full bottle of wine gets expensive fast. To their credit, Gusto allows guests to taste before purchasing a glass, and the servers gladly answer any questions about the wines and serve the wine in nice stemware. Most of the servers speak passable English. Everything here seems first class in a hip sort of way.

Although I dined there in the early hours of the evening, I understand that Gusto picks up more steam as the night goes on, and becomes a prime rendezvous spot for young well-heeled Romans. The place sits in the Piazza Augusto Imperatore at number 28, right off the Via del Corso, very close to the mausoleum of the Emperor Augustus, and in a very nice neighborhood. After a wine tasting, some friends and I tried the most popular item on the menu, pizza, and I found it quite good. To contact Gusto when in Rome, call 0668134221, or check out their rather limited website at www.gusto.it.

Before going farther, I digress, and feel compelled to offer my opinion on two commonly loved Italian food dishes: pasta and pizza. If you go to Italy, you will probably eat a lot of both. Please,

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The Enoteca Antica, at Via delle Croce 76 near the Spanish Steps, tries to blend old and new. The place manages to pull this off by having a traditional ambience featuring beamed ceilings, stone archways and Italian motifs, mixed with a young staff and eighties rock music playing softly in the background. It’s all a bit weird, but fun. The wine list is respectable, and their wines by the glass range from 4-10 euros. They have a fairly complete food menu, with entrees selling between 12-16 euros, and pizzas going for about 8 euros.

Preparing absinthe at Enoteca Spiriti...

The Capranica Enoteca & Taverna has an old world elegance not shared by the other wine bars already mentioned. This makes for a beautiful place to taste wine or enjoy a meal. It has a small outdoor patio area located in Piazza Capranica, at number 4, very close to the Pantheon. But at Capranica, the interior is what dazzles most patrons. The bar and restaurant are beautifully appointed, with many of the wines displayed in wooden shelves along the walls. Soft lighting and an attractive long, wooden bar add to the ambience. Capranica boasts an amazing wine list. Hundreds of bottles from most of the major wine regions of Europe, with predictable emphasis on Italian wines. They also offer wines by the glass for only 6 euros, but of course the choices are limited to their lessor quality wines. Full meals tend to cost more than 25 euros, without wine. Contact them at 066790860.

Cafe Veneto offers the last stop on our little tour of the wine bars of Rome. It proclaims itself as an enoteca, but this elegant establishment seems more like a restaurant. I include it here mainly due to its location, along the tree lined Via Veneto. In the past, this famous street represented the epicenter for high end shopping in Rome, but the Via Condotti has taken that title away. It remains a lovely place to walk, and offers one of the very few tree lined streets in the city. They do have a very large and impressive list of wines by the bottle. However, their wines by the glass are quite limited. On the night I visited, Cafe Veneto only had six different red wines by the glass, ranging in price from 6-16 euros. They have an enclosed patio along the sidewalk that has glass windows, making for a simulated al fresco dining experience while enjoying a classically formal setting. It’s worth stopping by for a glass of wine and some appetizers, but bring a fat wallet if you plan on eating here. The service is efficient but not overly friendly. You may find Cafe Veneto at Via Veneto 118, near the massive stone gates that lead into Borghese Park. Telephone then at 064827107.

When seeking out a special restaurant or wine bar in Rome, I suggest calling ahead to determine their hours. They seem to have irregular days for staying open. It’s frustrating to make the effort to find a place only to have it closed for that particular night. I had this happen several times on my most recent visit.

Located at Piazza Pasquino 73, right off the very touristy Piazza Navona, Cul de Sac qualifies as one of the oldest and most traditional enotecas in Rome. Small and usually crowded, with a limited food menu but a huge wine list, this place makes for an interesting cultural experience. Having been around almost forever, it’s well known by locals, and the later it gets the more local people show up. The restaurant has a long, narrow interior and an outside patio area that affronts the street and makes for good people watching. You may have to share a long table with others, so prepare yourself for a drinking and/or dining adventure.

Certainly, Spiriti does feature a lot of different wines, but since their food service remains quite limited (it serves a full lunch, but only plates of cured meats and cheese in the evenings), most of its customers come seeking to sip only a glass of wine, as opposed to ordering a full bottle, or in search of some exotic booze. I visited late one evening with friends, and the friendly owner was preparing absinthe in the traditional French way for some fun but already shaky British girls. It makes for a perfect last stop for the evening after having dinner elsewhere. You will find Enoteca Spiriti at Via Sant Eustachio 5; telephone 066833691.

The Trimani Wine Bar first opened in 1821, and certainly falls into the category of traditional. They take their wines seriously here. Trimani even has a separate wine shop that carries a vast array of bottles from all over Italy. It’s situated at Via Cernaia 37, within easy walking distance of the Piazza Republica, one of the main stops on the red line metro. It’s a bit nondescript, so take care to not miss it as you walk down Via Cernaia.

Trimani’s full service restaurant has a very complete wine list, and always includes a number of interesting wines by the glass featured as the nightly specials. They also promote a tasting menu, where the guest can sample smaller portions of different wines for less cost. Their specialties include bruschette with cheese and prosciutto and other dishes that the chef creates to pair with the wines. On the night I dined there, I had home made spaghetti and tasted three different wines, all for 23 euros. The pasta was delicious and my waitress, Roberta, provided efficient and friendly service.

Owner Carla Trimani at the bar...

Dining “al fresco” in style at Cafe Veneto...

On the night I dined there, the menu had six pasta selections and nine other entrees, ranging in price from 8-10 euros. The lasagna is to die for. The home made onion soup gets great raves too. The reasonably priced menu changes frequently, as many of the selections are seasonal and so the menu relies on what fresh foods become available with the most recent harvest. Most wines by the glass sell for 3-5 euros, so a patron may sample several without having to request a refinance of his mortgage. The bottle list goes on forever (over 1,200 selections), and ranges in price from inexpensive to stratospheric. The knowledgeable staff proves quite helpful in selecting that special bottle for the occasion. They also serve wine in nice stemware, and have a good selection of grappas if you should decide to give that a try. Contact Cul de Sac at 0668801094.

As we have cruised through a few of the wine bars of Rome, I would now like to guide the reader back to a few of the many incredible sights that this city has to offer, by taking a relatively easy walk along some of its better known thoroughfares. We begin at the Coliseum, at the south end of the Via Imperiali. Completed in the year 80 A.D., the structure hosted executions, animal slaughter and gladiatorial combat for sake of public entertainment for more than 400 years. Ironically, Romans eventually stripped the Coliseum

for building materials that helped construct the over 400 churches that now exist in Rome, leaving the original structure a fractured, but impressive, ruin. Definitely spend the money to take a guided tour.

After touring the Coliseum, walk towards the end where the Arch of Constantine remains. Constantine became the first emperor to embrace Christianity when he won an important battle after seeing a vision from God. The Arch was built in the early Fourth Century to commemorate his victories. Near that end of the Coliseum, and fairly close to the Arch, begins the present day remains of the Roman Forum. You must pay to enter, and again, a tour provides the most interesting way to enjoy this experience. Once inside the Forum grounds, you may walk up the hill to your left (as you walk from the direction of the Coliseum) to visit the Palatine Hill. Rome’s emperors lived here for exactly 500 years. The remains of some of their palaces are still visible. Fairly recently, archaeologists unearthed the ruins of the palace of Caesar Augustus, the first emperor to call the Palatine Hill home. I understand it makes a fantastic visit, but reservations are required in the summer months due to its popularity.

The Forum grounds are truly amazing, both from the standpoint of what remains and the history behind these ruins. One example: people still leave flowers at the spot where the remains of Julius Caesar were cremated in 44 B.C. Like the Coliseum, the Forum stood largely intact until the Renaissance period, when it was stripped for building materials.

Once you have walked the length of the Forum area from the Coliseum to the other end (a distance of perhaps half a mile), you will find yourself at the base of a hill. Ascend the incline by way of the steps and you will find yourself in the middle of a lovely square known as the Piazza del Campidoglio. This site has several official buildings, including a fine museum and the city hall, and a replica of a bronze statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. The master Michelangelo first drew up plans for the layout of the Campidoglio and some of its present buildings during the Renaissance.

The Coliseum stands as an impressive ruin of Classical Rome...

Now walk down the large stairway towards the front of the square (you entered from the back if you came from the Forum), and bear to the right. You will see the massive white Victor Emmanuel II Monument, built as a tribute to the first king of a united Italy. Romans jokingly refer to it as the “wedding cake”, due to its layers of floors and white color. It’s an accurate description! At the base of monument, you will now find yourself in Piazza Venezia, one of the busiest turning circles in Rome.

On of the main streets dead ending into the monument is Via Corso. Walk down it (away from the monument) for about one half a mile or until you see a tourist information booth on the right side of the street. The street just across from this booth (on the left hand side of the Via Corso) will take you to the Pantheon. I believe the name of the street is Via dei Seminario, but check a map to make sure.

Completed by the emperor Hadrian in 125 A.D., the Pantheon has marveled visitors for nearly two thousand years. The hole in the apex of its roof, some 140 feet above the floor and known as the oculus, made it possible to support the massive weight of the dome. It stands as Rome’s only principally intact building remaining from the time of the classical empire.

Michelangelo used the Pantheon as inspiration when designing the dome of St. Peter’s. It influenced the building of countless other buildings of note, such as the United States Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial. Sit outside in the lovely piazza that faces the Pantheon and sip some wine or have a bite to eat. Note that the obelisk in the piazza came from Egypt and predates even the Pantheon by more than a thousand years. If only these stones could talk...!!!

Dining with the Pantheon as a backdrop...

If you stand facing the facade of the Pantheon, and take any of the small streets to your right, you will soon come to the Piazza Navona, one of Europe’s most famous squares, and a must see for anyone visiting Rome. The piazza has three fountains built at the direction of the master Bernini. Various shops and restaurants surround the square, all painted in the pastel colors of Italian Renaissance architecture. At night, this place comes alive with live performers, including artists, musicians, magic acts, comedians and even “fire-eaters.” It makes for quite a scene and an inexpensive way to enjoy the evening. If you walk to the south edge of the piazza and then walk to your right, you will be very close to the Cul de Sac enoteca mentioned above.

The above walk should take anywhere between 2-6 hours, depending on how many stops the visitor makes. It would make a very good way to spend one’s first day in Rome.

Of course, Rome has many more important sites than those taken in by the walk. Anyone with any interest in art or history should plan on spending most of one day at the Vatican and its incomparable museum. And the Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, Castel Sant Angelo, Borghese Park and its Galleria, Piazza del Popolo, and the neighborhood of Trastevere all offer compelling attractions.

The good news is that most of the important sites in Rome are relatively close to one another. Moreover, the Rome metro line provides an easy and inexpensive way to get around town. It consists of only two lines and the tourist can become familiar with its simple routes without much problem. Make use of it when visiting this remarkable city.

One last bit of advice regarding accommodations while in Rome: If price is no object, you will of course have no problem finding a place to stay. Rome has hundreds of uber-expensive hotels. Likewise if you sign up for a tour. However, if you are planning the trip yourself and seek an affordable place to stay, I recommend the three star Hotel Gea di Vulcano, located at Via Nazionale 243, telephone 064884996. You may also use www.hotels.com to book this hotel. Its location within easy walking distance of the main train station and the Piazza Republica metro stop makes it very convenient for guests. It has clean, basic rooms that are large by European standards. Best of all, the staff is friendly and extremely helpful regarding everything from hotel issues to providing advice about the city. They even helped me repair a damaged suitcase during a recent five night stay. They also serve a nice Italian style breakfast. Special kudos here to the owner, Rossana and her daughter, Alessandra, for their help.

For more photographs of Rome, see the following page...

Caesar welcomes you to Rome...by way of his statue along the Via Imperiali between the Coliseum and Piazza Venezia...

no one take offense, it’s just my personal opinion. When I mentioned above that the pizza at Gusto was good, I meant good by the standards of pizza made in Italy. Unfortunately, even the best pizza I have tried there does not measure up to even above average pizza made in the good old USA. First, it usually comes sadly lacking in toppings, and second, the dough almost always seems undercooked, in that it is virtually impossible to pick up a piece of pizza without it folding over and losing whatever miserly amount of toppings were there to begin with. Thus, Italians often use a knife and fork to cut individual bites while eating pizza, instead of the American way of picking up a slice with our hands. They probably think we are barbarians!

Pasta though, presents a completely different story altogether. Good, freshly made pasta in Italy is simply out of this world. It’s in a completely different league than ANY pasta I have ever tried here in the States. For some reason, even with our plethora of Italian restaurants and citizens of Italian heritage, we just cannot seem to duplicate the flavors or consistency of great Italian pasta. Go to a nice restaurant in Italy and see for yourself. Then try to find that same flavor here; mission impossible.

Next stop, the venerable Vinoteca Novecento located in the little Piazza Vicolo delle Coppelle at number 47. It has a rustic quality that seems to belie its location in the heart of this bustling metropolis. Locals stop here for some alfresco wine after eating at one of the many small restaurants surrounding the Vinoteca. This place puts wine first and foremost, having only some cheese and bread plates for food during evening hours. The wine list features many bottles from all over Italy, but again, the wines by the glass menu is somewhat limited. Glasses go from 6-10 euros. Although it has a few tables inside, most of the action here takes place on the exterior.

The Vinoteca uses old wine barrels as tables and this, together with fire torches, adds to an ambience further enhanced by the piazza. The square is small and intimate, and often frequented by Roman politicians and celebrities “going casual” for the evening. I understand that Sophia Loren often stops here. It’s very small, with a maximum seating capacity of perhaps 40, including the outside area. The place sits sandwiched between two small restaurants. The outside tables are so close to the restaurants that you can easily meet the people eating next door. Located between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, it makes for a convenient place to sip wine while taking in some real local culture by people watching or striking up a conversation. It’s a bit hard to find, so locate the piazza on a map before you try to find it. You might call them at 066833078.

The ambience seems a bit spartan, but in an old-fashioned way that has a certain appeal. Like stepping back into the 1930s for dinner. Certainly, the restaurant attracts a lot of local professional people. While I venture to guess that it has no formal dress code, most patrons appeared nattily attired. If you eat dinner here make certain to check out the impressive fountain at Piazza Republica after dark. The price/quality ration seems reasonable compared to similar venues. Due to Trimani’s popularity, it might prove best to call ahead for reservations, at 064469630.

Moving on, the Enoteca Spiriti bills itself as a wine bar, but seems more like a regular fully stocked bar that also carries a very strong wine list. I have included it here because of its location, very close to the Pantheon, and because it provides a fun and scenic diversion. It has a great ambience, tucked away in a lovely small piazza, with the surrounding buildings almost forming a canyon of Roman architecture that seems right out of a Hollywood movie set. Only this is the real thing. Fun because it attracts a lively, mostly younger crowd of both locals and tourists who can’t seem to resist the seductive lighting and many drinking options this place offers.