Summer Letter: A wine journalist on the nine bars worth your summer in Rome

Elisa Amorelli on why Rome might just be the best wine city in the world, and where to drink in it.

Rome, June.

I’m going to be so bold as to say that Rome is the best wine city in the world.

Not just because it has such a long wine tradition, with Romans once cheering on gladiators while sipping spicy, nutty and heavily oxidised wines, but because it seamlessly blends those ancient traditions with a wine culture that feels more dynamic than ever.

Since moving here two and a half years ago, I’ve trained as a sommelier and written a biweekly column about wine in the city. Yet it still feels as though I’ve barely scratched the surface. The stories never seem to run out. There’s always a new wine bar opening, a new trend in the making, or an ancient piece of wine history waiting to be told.

The fact that wines from the region have gone through something of a renaissance over the past decade makes the city even more exciting as the epicentre of Lazio’s wine scene. For a long time, the region’s wines were considered rather... boring. They were low in alcohol, made to be drunk young, and produced with quantity rather than quality in mind.

But a lot has changed in recent years. Winemaking in Lazio has undergone a modern makeover, and local grape varieties now often share the spotlight with international stars such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The result is a new generation of wines with greater depth, complexity and character.

Across the region, younger winemakers are stepping into the vineyards their parents and grandparents once ran, armed with fresh ideas, formal training in agriculture and oenology, and a deep commitment to sustainable farming. This is a trend we’re seeing across Italy, with younger generations taking the baton from their more conservative parents and proving far more willing to experiment.

It also explains why the city is now buzzing with a new wave of wine bars, many of them devoted to natural wines. These are the fun, experimental bottles that have somehow gone from “What’s the big deal?” to become a near-religious obsession for a certain type of drinker who likes anything juicy and funky (myself included).

As part of my rather demanding research as a wine writer, I’ve spent countless hours working my way through the city’s wine bars. It therefore feels only right, perhaps even my civic duty, to share a few favourites.

Narrowing the list down was no easy task, but here goes.

Let’s start with the wonderful Latteria in Trastevere, recently named one of the world’s best wine bars by Food & Wine. Nestled right in the heart of one of Rome’s most tourist-packed neighbourhoods, it somehow manages to feel like a hidden oasis. Lanterns glow softly overhead, and the wine list seems to go on forever. Here, you can explore everything from the region’s exciting new-wave wines to dusty old bottles pulled from the cellar shelves.

Not far away, you can climb the hill to Monteverde and settle in for a second glass at La Mescita. With its charming outdoor terrace, laid-back staff and excellent small plates, it’s the kind of place where one quick drink has a habit of turning into an entire evening.

And while you’re in the neighbourhood, make a detour to Barro. This relatively new hole-in-the-wall has managed to turn drinking good wine into a remarkably efficient in-and-out operation. There’s a steady stream of locals and the sort of relaxed atmosphere that makes you wonder why every wine bar can’t be this simple.

For a livelier night out, I’d head to Vinificio in Testaccio. The place glows with coloured lights, DJs and live performances, while the leather sofas fill up with people in oversized blazers who look as though they’ve just stepped out of a design studio, an architecture office, or some other creative workplace. Come for a little more fancy glass, and leave several hours later wondering how that happened.

While you’re in the neighbourhood, make a stop at Testaccio Market and head straight for stall number eight: Da Corrado al Banco 18. The challenge here is securing one of the few bar stools, where you can sit elbow-to-elbow with strangers over a glass of wine and whatever pasta happens to be on the menu that day.

If, like me, you simply can’t get enough of natural wine, then Solovino in Cipro deserves a spot on your list. Some of my most memorable evenings in Rome have started, or ended, here, especially during their tasting events. For around twenty euros, you get to work your way through eight different wines, guided by the staff who are every bit as enthusiastic about the bottles as you are. The perfect setup for the indecisive, the curious, and anyone who secretly wants to order the entire wine list but knows that society generally frowns upon that sort of behaviour.

On the other side of the city, in Pigneto, you’ll find Sospeso, a wine bar that seems to have bottled the neighbourhood’s slightly rough-around-the-edges yet irresistibly vibrant character. The wines are adventurous, the clientele eccentric, and the wine list has no interest in playing it safe.

Lastly, I can’t talk about Rome’s wine scene without mentioning the city’s wonderful converted newsstands, which seem to be popping up on every corner. One of the best is Fischio, a hugely popular and relaxed kiosk-bar at Piazzale degli Eroi.

Surrounded by trees, honking cars and strings of fairy lights, it has become a favourite gathering spot for locals. The wines are excellent, the cups are plastic, and the people-watching is first-class.

With all that said, what I love most about Rome’s wine scene isn’t necessarily the wine itself, although there’s plenty to love there too. It’s what the scene says about the city.

For all its history, Rome has never been particularly interested in standing still. The same city that preserves its ancient ruins is perfectly happy to turn a newspaper kiosk into a wine bar, hand a young winemaker the keys to a centuries-old vineyard, or fall in love with a cloudy orange wine made from a grape nobody can pronounce.

And perhaps that’s what makes drinking wine in Rome so exciting right now. In the same night, you can drink wines made much as they were generations ago and chase experimental natural wines poured by a tattooed sommelier. Few cities manage to balance tradition and reinvention so effortlessly.



Enjoy,

Elisa Amorelli.