Just like Heaven: Pistacchi Trevani

     Though the odds were against me today-transportation strike in Rome, a train that was 50 minutes late and no buses to be found-I managed to make it on time to lead a culinary stroll throughout central Rome.  We usually wander around the markets, get some amazing coffee at Café S. Eustachio, eat treats in the Jewish Quarter and then have a Grattachecca, or Roman ice.  Today, my clients had already done all of those things, so I had to find a foodie paradise, and fast.  We took a taxi to a gourmand’s paradise, and they went to town.  All I could think about was whether I would be coming up to another 3 kilos of zucchini and if I did, what the heck was I going to do with them.  I admit, I was spaced out.  Until Mr. Gourmand had us tasting the 25 yrs old  Aceto Basalmico Tradizionale di Modena, which was itself quite divine.   If I believed in a god, it would be only under such circumstances as having tasted something so divine.  But no, the taste of heaven I had today were the pistachio cookies I sampled and of course, bought, that come from the town of Trevi, which is near Perugia.  

     Finding delicious cookies or sweets in Europe that are not full of eggs, butter and cream can be difficult, but in some parts of Italy, they are common.  These cookies are not at all beautiful; they are bright green with nuts falling out of them.  They look like oatmeal cookies on acid.  They do not, however, taste anything like oatmeal cookies, or any cookie on acid.    They are called Pistacchi Trevani, or Pistachio of Trivia.  They are made of a simple blend of almond paste, pistachio paste, and pistachios.  The paste from the nuts if made from the shelled and skinned nuts mixed with sugar until a heavy paste is formed.  They do not contain any flour, gluten, eggs, or dairy.  They are very rich, so one is, by far, plenty.  They are slightly baked on the outside, pasty on the inside and have an extra crunch due to the pistachio nuts that are added.  I love that they are bright green and look messy.  They do fall apart very easily.  What makes them special is that they have lovely sweet and nutty aromas. 

These were a pleasant surprise to discover while working.  These culinary tours will end up costing me more than I will ever make.  I can’t help myself.  At ever corner in Rome there is amazing tasty food that just begs to be sampled, from pizza Bianca (white pizza) to Roman shaved ice to fried artichokes.  I can barely walk 5 minutes without having to stop and eat something because it either looks so good from the window or there is a decadent aroma coming from its kitchen. 

I think these cookies would be fairly easy to make.  When I was looking them up I found many blogs referring to the pistachio cookies from Sicily that taste like heaven.  In fact, I do think they seem more Sicilian in origin than Umbrian, as Sicilian desserts often rely on nut pastes instead of flour.   Luckily, Ettore did not think they were Just like Heaven, and that translates into...more for ME.  

I think these would be extra special with a chilled passito, such as a Passito di Lampedusa.

Wherever they are from, they are DIVINE.  


Note: Some Almond Paste Contains Eggs.

Rocca Massima: Locanda dell'Arcangelo

Narrow streets of Rocca Massima

     Yesterday I barely moved from the sofa because it was so hot and humid here.  Poor Ettore had to work under the hot Roman sun, and when he came home it was much cooler than what the Romans feel in the summer, but still deathly hot for me.   We live in the hills outside Rome, the Castelli Romani.  The air is cleaner, fresher, and cooler during the summer, which is why on weekends, loads of Romans come up here to eat, cool off, and take a swim at the Lake near Castel Gandolfo.   We Castelli residents need to cool off as well, and we need to escape the loads of nasty porchetta eaters in Ariccia.  Last night,  Ettore and I headed up to the hills to a small little town called Rocca Massima.  It was a lovely evening.  We could see the Castelli from a bird’s eye view, and gaze from the top of the town that overlooks the sea.  Rocca Massima is very close to Cori, and has pre-roman roots.  Like many towns in Lazio, it is a small medieval hilltop town built on the foundations of a previous culture.  Rocca Massima belonged to the Volsci, which is also the same people of the town of Velletri, and many argue that the greatest emperors of Rome had Volsci roots, as they came from these towns. 

Tuscany's new rival?

     We hoped into our car and drove through fields that could easily compete with anything I have seen in Tuscany.  I went a bit wild with my new camera’s panorama setting! 

     We escaped the heat of Genzano, and of course ran into a bunch of Genzanese people with the same idea.    The difference for us and a Roman meeting another Roman in the Castelli is that we all actually know each other.    There was a local food and wine festival going on which had an itinerary that led visitors all around the town.  We didn’t come for the festival, though.  We came to have a relaxing dinner with a nice view.  

Locanda dell’Arcangelo

     We decided on a cute little B&B at the very top of the town called Locanda dell’Arcangelo.  They had a wonderfully descriptive menu filled with local treats and a wine menu that had a fantastic selection of wines from Lazio.  Everything was very inexpensive.   Ettore and I love going to these old towns outside the Castelli and outside Rome.  Latina is a province in Lazio that I think is the place to watch.  We eat fresh and seasonal vegetables, we try new wines by winemakers that have a passion for the history of their land, and we learn about cultures of the region.  What I love about Lazio, besides the food and wine, is the fact that for us, a drive of about 20 minutes took us to a completely different place.  Homogeny doesn’t seem to exist between towns once you escape the province of Rome.

View from our table

     Another delightful point:  Lazio is one of the easiest regions to be a vegan.  The kitchen is loaded with incredible vegetables.  They are also extraordinarily diverse.   We always order an antipasto of vegetables, and every place we go outside the province of Rome  has their own selection of locally available goodies.  

In Rome and the provinces of Rome it is always the same plate of boring grilled vegetables.  Outside the province of Rome t

hey are sometimes what the family has growing in their garden, what was available at the market that day, and sometimes what they find in the field. 

Antipasto

     

    Locanda dell’Arcangelo  had an enticing antipasto di verdure which included grilled eggplant, stuffed eggplant, lightly roasted carrots with thyme, cipolline in agrodolce(sweet and sour pearl onions),  Gaeta olives, insalata d’orzo(Barley salad) , bruschetta, and zucchini.  The bruschette were inedible.  The bread was at least a week old and they didn’t add any salt.  Everything else was fine.  The pearl onions were especially delicious.  We ordered a bottle of Marco Carpineti  Capolemole Bianco 2009.  Carpineti is the winery I want so much to succeed, and I wrote about in an earlier blog.  The wine had a lovely hay yellow color, lovely floral and fruity aromas, with a hint of bread, but it was someone flat and lacked acidity.  

Gorgeous Pasta

     
     For my first dish I ordered an absolutely scrumptious pasta con zucchini, radicchio con olio, aglio e menta(pasta with zucchini, radicchio, oil, garlic and mint). It was a well balanced plate of heaven.  The radicchio and zucchini were perfectly cooked, the pasta wasn’t loaded with oil, the aromatic flavors from the garlic and mint were utter perfection in my mouth.  And despite the wine’s lack of freshness, the aromas and fruitiness paired well with my aromatic dish.  I was very happy.  And full. 

Super greasy radicchio ;(

    

Of course we ordered everything at the beginning of the evening when our stomachs were empty from not eating lunch earlier(too hot to cook) and we both had a case of eyes are bigger than the stomach, but we did not cancel our contorni of vegetables we ordered.  We ordered grilled radicchio, cicoria, and French fries (say what you want, they were delicious).  The radicchio was grilled and swimming in oil and Aceto Balsamico  that tasted artificially sweet.  We only took a few bites.  The cicoria was nothing special, but at least it was cooked well and not dripping in oil like I tend to see in Rome.  The French fries were homemade and perfect.  Almost as good as the perfect plate of fries I once had at the Madonna Inn many years ago. 

     

     

          Cost for two people with starter, first, sides, a bottle of wine and a fantastic view? 

€50

I love Latina.

Party! Pizza Party!

  I felt compelled to write about pizza since I live in the land of pizza.  Many people ask me, "How can you be vegan when you live in the land of pizza?"  I tell them, "It is easy."  A lot of my friends back in the States think I must have the hardest time in Italy as a vegan.  I guess this goes back to their own traveling experiences here and maybe it was difficult for them because they did not know how to order in Italian.  I know my own transition to veganism in Italy has been relatively seamless.  Sure, I get the odd, "You don't eat Mozzarella?" But, I don't mind.  I know my pizza options and they are not that limited, in fact, they are vast.  

Since we do not have a real kitchen currently, more like something that resembles camping equipment, we have been eating our fair share of pizza since we moved.  And I have been having a string of bad pizza luck, culminating in the worst place I have ever eaten at in Rome, a place called San Marco on Via Sardegna, near Via Veneto.  I guess it is hip because they have DJs, but their pizza was more or less cardboard and the vegetables on mine tasted like rubber.  I felt bad because we were there for a work party, which I am sure was chosen by one of my colleagues.  Such a shame, too, since the guest of honor isn't in Italy all the time and was likely excited to eat good food.    I personally thought I could trust his taste, because he is attending wine school, but let me just say, wine school does not equal good taste.  Some people just do things because of the money involved.  And I should have known better when he  said, "Hey, what do you think about ordering the house wine? It is just like Brunello."  "Um, ok,"  I say to myself,  "I guess that sounds, good, you've been here, and you must know about food and wine since you are taking an 18 month wine course."  Wrong!  Ladies, never let some boasty guy who talks endlessly about how cool he is because he DJs and does wine tours tell you how to order wine when you instincts tell you to listen to yourself!  I don't know why I lack confidence when it comes to food and wine.  Ettore thinks I feel guilty about it.  I do know I learned a lesson.  I order the wine and food and I chose the places.  Whenever someone says, "Si Magna Bene,"   or, One eats well here in Roman dialect, I should always know I am in for a tasteless evening.  

  It turns out what they mean with that phrase is that one eats a lot for less.  So it is a phrase of quantity, not quality.  Ettore and I have started calling it the Si Magna Bene culture.  It is a good label for people in their late 20s and 30s who frequent hipster places where they eat a ton of food that doesn't cost a lot of money and yet has absolutely no quality, so then macho guys pretend to be throwing around cash, like in a rap video.  Sure, you can have a 4 course meal with wine and water for €10 a person, but, you'll regret it for days afterward.  Well, at least I do. Make makes this whole situation worse is the fact that this guy is from California!  I should have clued in when he ordered the most expensive dish on the menu.  He was making a show for us the entire evening.  He wanted us to know he was a regular there, he knew the wine list, he knew the most expensive things, etc.  MACHISMO at its absolute worst.  

  Which brings me back to pizza.    I wished that the party could have been in Genzano.  Our favorite place to get pizza is amazing, and also quite inexpensive.  We also don't have to be victim to bad DJs and their horrible techno music.  We go to the very old Genzanese RISTORANTE TIGELLINO where I always order a focaccia ortolana or a white pizza with vegetables.  See, here in Italy, it is not unusual to order a pizza without cheese.  Many pizzas automatically do not have cheese,  and some do not even have red sauce.  At Tigellino they are very generous with the vegetables, which are all sourced locally.  Each vegetable is cooked perfectly, with great texture and incredibly rich flavors.   Usually there are grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, chicory or spinach, rocket, cherry tomatoes, roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary, all topped with amazing olive oil.  The crust is also out of this world.  The crust is perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside, but just tender enough to be scrumptious and to hold in flavor.  The crust has a lovely texture because they have a long levitation, which makes the pizza dough easier to digest.  So...yummy, crispy, and with the perfect amount of salt.  

  I think we'll get pizza tonight! 

  

RISTORANTE TIGELLINO
19, VIA SARAGAT G. 00045
GENZANO DI ROMA RM
Tel. 069396741  

  

Puglia Monti: Artichoke Heaven

Puglia Monti

     Puglia Monti is a quaint little place in Monti, very close to the Roman Forum.  The owner and chef is Emanuele Dicuonzo who is from Puglia, hence,  the name Puglia Monti.  I have to admit that although I am vegan, I tend to avoid restaraunts in Rome that are specifically vegan or vegetarian.  I do so because my experience has been that these places have a huge emphasis on veganism, and not the actual food, so they do a lot of mock recipes and overuse seitan, and they are often very overpriced.  Puglia Monti is a vegetarian place in the heart of Rome that specializes in regional dishes from Puglia, but the food speaks for itself.  I ate the best food I have ever had in Rome here.  We went to Puglia Monti for lunch on “Little Easter,” the Monday after Easter.  I wanted to get there while artichokes were still in season.  A few weeks earlier I had dinner at Puglia Monti and had the best artichokes I have had in my life.  

Emmanuale truly embraces the word chef .  He creates masterpieces from simple ingredients, which is the true heart of the Italian kitchen.  He is trying to showcase the best of the pugliaese kitchen, without using animal carcasses, which is the tendency in the Roman kitchen.  In Rome, it seems they make up for lack of flavor or creativity by overusing animal products.  After all, what is the excuse most people use for not being vegan?  It tastes so good.  The traditional Mediterranean diet is not full of animal fats and proteins: 

   
According to Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University's School of Public Health in the mid1990s:    The traditional Mediterranean diet diet is based on,  food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s, this diet, in addition to "regular physical activity," emphasizes "abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat”

 At Puglia Monti, the food is of another world.  Serious attention has been paid to every detail.   The food is fresh, the flavors simple, the presentation is modern and minimal.  It is a tiny place, with the capacity to hold maybe 20 people for lunch or dinner.  The wine list is 100% wine from Puglia.  The host is also a sommelier like us, and he is working on a degree in oenology.  He speaks perfect English, so if you have trouble reading the menu, he can help. 


      I came for the carciofi, and I left more than satisfied.  I have never before had artichokes this delicious in Rome, the city known for artichokes.  

YUMMY!

We ordered a bottle of Cacc'e Mmitte di Lucera which is a DOC from the province of Foggia.  The principle grape is Troia.  It was a decent wine that was ruby red, earthy, honest, and warm.  It had a great minerality, but die to it's position in the south, it lacked a good acidity.  

For my starter I ordered Spiedini di Carciofi e Mandarini con Insalata di Finocchio, Pangrattato e Pesto delle Tremiti-Artichoke and Mandarin Skewers on a bed of roasted Fennel Salad, Bread Crumbs and Pesto of Tremiti

It was out of this world.  Everything was perfectly cooked, the vegetables were still crisp.  The mandarin was slightly caramelized, it was heaven.  The bread crumbs gave it a lovely texture, almost like cane sugar because it had set in with the caramelized mandarin.  The entire creation was perfectly balanced.  It was evenly sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and mineral with each bite.  The plate was also very well presented.

For my primo I ordered: Ravioli Ripieni di Carciofi su Crema di Fave Secche e Menta- Artichoke stuffed Ravioli with a Cream of Fave Beans and Mint

This was the great surprise of the evening.  I would love to know how he was able to manage to make stuffed ravioli using a pasta recipe without eggs(usually a binder) and yet the pasta was rich, homemade, and did not break.  It was actually delicious.  The dish was so creamy, I was in gastronomic heaven.  The filling was also a surprise.  I expected the usual bitterness to accompany the artichoke, but instead found that it was very complex, sapid, savory, nutty, and only slightly bitter.  This was a marvelous recipe.  I wish I at least had the recipe for the pasta.  

   

For my main I ordered:

Variazione di Carciofi-Mixed Artichokes

1.  Carciofi alla Giudia-Jewish style artichoke, or,  fried artichoke flower

2.  Carciofi alla Romana-Roman artichoke or, Artichoke Stewed with Garlic and Mint

3.  Carciofi sottaceto-Pickled Artichoke

4.  Carciofi alla Brace-Grilled Artichoke

5.  Carciofi Fritti-Breaded and Fried Artichoke

Everything was cooked to perfection.  Nothing was overly greasy, the fried artichokes were not dripping in oil as has been my experience in other parts of Rome, and the pickled artichoke were crispy, fresh, and had a well balanced flavor.  They were not overly acidic.

For dessert:  Tortino al Forno con Frangipane e Mele su mosto cotto-Small oven baked Apple pie with baked apples.  

I have noticed a lack of photos of ME when we go out.


I can't wait to go back, I hope it will be soon, and when artichokes are still in season!


Puglia Monti
Via Urbana 104
Rione Monti, Roma
064742772
pugliamonti@gmail.com   


Antiqua Tours

Wolfberger: Vin D'Alsace

    

      I am quite impressed, with the new interest in wine in San Diego.  We went to a wine bar called The Wine Lover .   It was a lovely place, and I will definitely go back. 

My choice was an Alsace Gewurztraminer.  Try saying that 3x…

Wolfberger

Gewurztraminer

Alsace France

Vin D’Alsace

2003

    This wine was gorgeous.   It had a bouquet of roses and magnolia in bloom, but from a distance.  Not overpowering, like magnolia can be on a hot and humid day, but a hint.  The wine was sharing a secret, or seducing me with this intoxicating perfume.  On the palate it was slightly oily in texture, dry but fruity, with a long after taste.  It tasted of dried mangoes, hint of vanilla, and rose water.   This wine reminded me of Pablo Neruda love poems to his wife.  Romantic, well balanced, in harmony with a woman's taste, but not sickly sweet or overly romantic.  I enjoyed it immensely. 

Thousands Linger in Hell!

No-kill shelters are BIG business in Italy:
http://tiny.cc/W8BMF
It is disgusting how people take advantage of animals for profit.

There is one of these Canile Lager right near Rome, in Rieti. I am trying to
get some of the older dogs out, but I can't help them all.
http://ulminopericanidirieti.splinder.com/
there are only THREE people helping over 700 dogs.
Better is Laura at
http://www.adozionicani.it/
she responds quickly to emails.
I have posted about one, Sole, and received emails regarding wanting to
volunteer.

Your best option would be through them:
http://www.associazionecanililazio.it/
or
Giuliana Montella

Giuliana is a volunteer and organizer with the canili in Rome and speaks
english.

Another option is long distance adoption of one of the dogs of Rieti. This will
ensure the dog will be taken to a canile that actually has volunteers and grass
and has contact with other dogs. The dogs of Rieti NEVER get out of their
cages, NEVER.

2 urgent dogs

Maxina is quasi paralyzed and lived in a Canile Lager in the south of Italy.
She was rescued and then is now slowly losing back leg ability to walk. She
needs help, urgently.

http://rome.en.craigslist.it/pet/1621422090.html

And of course, Sole

http://rome.en.craigslist.it/pet/1591754570.html

If we all pitch in a little, we can help these dogs. STOP RANDAGISIMO IN
ITALY!!

Never buy a dog when so many(thousands and thousands) spend there life locked
up!! You can find dogs of any size, breed or age through the Canile

Cori Day Trip

    Temple of Hercules and Medieval bell tower

Of Wine and Lazio

    Cori is a small medieval town in Latina, which is a province of Lazio, in Italy.  Rome is also in the region of Lazio, and yet, unlike many parts of Italy, Lazio is one of the most forgotten regions of Italy.  Rome, a city of monuments, popes and politics, overwhelms Lazio, leaving towns like Cori to continue to evolve and watch time go by as they remain unchanged.  The towns of Lazio have a medieval facade, which often buries a pre-roman foundation.  Rome, too, was once a village,  that became an empire, which them fell to become another medieval village of Italy.  Cori is a town I want to keep my eye on. As a wine drinker, I have a deep fascination with the wines of Italy, and I especially love the "newer" style of Lazio winemaking.  In Cori, they are going back to their roots, rediscovering their indigenous grapes and making great and interesting wines at a very good price.  Cori, was once a town of Volsci, a Pre-Roman Italian civilization who were assimilated by the Romans by the 6th c. BCE.   The Romans were very good at assimilated cultures throughout the penninsula, and virtually eliminating any memory of the culture before.  Or so they thought.  You can still meet people who refer to themselves as Latini, Volsci, or Etruschi. Long ago, when Rome fell to Barbarians, People maintined their ancient heritage and remembered their roots.  The birth of the Middle Ages in Rome gave birth to what Italy is today, which is not so much the heir of homogenous Rome,  but a very diverse culture of hundreds of dialects, kitchens, and wine.  People went back to their roots in the middle ages.  They built their medieval towns on the ancient foundations that already existed.  They isolated themselves, and really, the only true link they had with each other was the Church.   This is why, when we visit these old stone towns upon hills, we travel back in time, to a pastoral Italy that is dying and going extinct.  Before the monuments of Rome, Italians were pastoral people, very much linked to the land, and soo they still are.  Cori is a fantastic example of Lazio being built on itself time and time again.  We walked through the town, visited the medieval alleys, saw the Roman gates, all built on top of Pre-Roman foundations.  The roots of the greatest Roman orator, Cicero, are Volscian.  His house was in the valley below Velletri, the capital of the Volscian league. 

    Trattoria Da Checco

 We decided to have lunch first.  Cori is about 45 km. south of Rome, so it was a lovely drive past the Castelli Romani through Velletri and down to the grassy fields of Cori.  We found this trattoria,  Trattoria Da Checco When we arrived, it was empty, but I suppose this is because we arrived earlier than the usual lunch hour for Italians.  One of the reasons I wanted to eat here is because they had a local wine list, including wines from the Carpineti cantina.  Marco Carpineti makes wonderfully rustic and organic wine all made with the indigenous grapes of the area.  

 

Capomole

     We ordered the Capomole.  Now, I don't usually carry around a wine notebook when I am having a casual lunch, but I wanted to make a note of this wine, because I really enjoyed it.  Luckily I had a tiny notebook that I used to scribble some tasting notes.  First, the color: we noted it was ruby red with a hint of garnet.  We both found the aromas intense and complex, a very earthy wine, with hints of clay and wet forrest.  We noted leather, dried red currants, with hints of wet grass and rosemary.  Underneath all that it had a very obvious note of licorice, which made sense when I read it was a blend that incuded the Montepulciano grape.  There was something I couldn't quite wrap my  nose around, it was a bitter and earthy aroma.  It made my mouth water and reminded me of sunshine and the fall in Tuscany.  It reminded me of youthful love and then sipping wine in a moldy wine cellar in Rome while snacking on porcini mushrooms. Then it came to me, black truffles!  In fact, it came to me in such a flash that I shouted to Ettore, Tartufi Neri!  While my nose was busy in the glass, I failed to notice that the trattoria had filled up, and it wasn't just Ettore and I anymore.  Oh well, for me, truffles are always something to get excited about!  I also noted a hint of pencil.  Why would I know this?  I am one of those anxious people that chews on pencils while listening to lectures.  I have known what pencils taste and smell like since I was a child in elementary school.   This was on the palate was very well rounded, mineral, dry and had lovely soft tannins.  It was warm on the palate, I didn't write it down, but I believe it was at least 13%.  For me, I didn't find it fresh enough.  The acidity for me was lower than I would have expected, but Ettore found the wine to be very fresh.   On this we differed.  Wine is, afterall, subjective, perhaps I had a cold.  This wine is made from a blend of Montepulciano, Nero Buono, and Cesanese grapes.  How very laziale!  Now, on to the food.... 

We both ordered antipasto verdure grigliate.  We each got a plate of grilled and marinated vegetables including eggplant, sundried tomatoes, artichoke, olives, and red peppers.  All were very fresh and delicious, though, I found them a bit on the oily side. 

Luckily they gave us enough of this rustic bread to clean up all the leftover olive oil in the plate! Hi Ettore!  :)

I ordered Cellitti con funghi porcini e zucchine for my first course  The pasta was incredible and prefectly al dente.  Cellitti is a water and flour pasta that is very easy to make at home.  It was all very fresh and flavorful, but, again, I found that they were a little heavy handed with the oil.  When I was almost finished and at the bottom of the bowl, the pasta was swimming in oil.  errrrrr...

 

For my second course I ordered fresh porcini mushrooms.  They were amazing.  They had the perfect consistency and firmness, they were cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of oil, salt, parsley and red pepper.  They had a nice soft bitterness that I quite enjoyed with the the wine. 

I also ordered grilled radicchio.  Talk about BITTER.  It was so delicious I was practically licking the plate when I was done.  Wikipedia defines radicchio as follows:  Radicchio is a leaf chicory (Cichorium intybus, Asteraceae), sometimes known as Italian chicory. It is grown as a leaf vegetable which usually has white-veined red leaves. It has a bitter and spicy taste, which mellows when it is grilled or roasted.  YUM.  It was bitter and it overpowered the wine.  Luckily we had pretty much finished the bottle off before the radicchio.

 We decided to have a walk around the town, which was pretty much a ghost town built on a hill with stones.  I love these old doors. 

The Temple of Hercules

     It was just fantastic to walk through Cori and see the old temples with Christian churches built into them.  Our trip ended with a drive down the hill to the winery Marco Carpineti where we tasted a few more wines and bought a case to go home with.  Unfortunately they had sold  every single bottle of white wine!  I have had their whites and they are lovely.  Mr. Carpineti was a very gracious host.  He spent ample time with us explaining their organic vineyards, introducing us to the enologist, describing their methods and philosophy, and letting us taste some wines.  He also had some very nice cats(what can I say, I am a sucker for kitties!).  Carpineti incorporates old winemaking with the new, using sound and sustainable practices on the land which has produced wine for thousands of years. 

If you are interested in an enogastronomic day tour from Rome, contact Antiqua Tours