When in Rome, do as the Romans do! Meaning eat and drink food and wine from the province of Lazio of which Rome is the capital! The proverb comes from medieval Latin sī fuerīs Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; sī fuerīs alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī —shortened to when in Rome…), and is attributed to Saint Ambrose meaning best to follow the traditions or customs of a place being visited. The story goes that Saint Monica and her son, Saint Augustine learned Saturday was observed as a fast day in Rome, when it’s not a fast day in Milan. Saint Ambrose responded with “When I am here (in Milan) I do not fast on Saturday, when in Rome I do fast on Saturday” according to Wikipedia leading to the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”the past.

And since I flew into Rome June 1 and stayed for a few days, it was a perfect opportunity to explore the city with Lazio food and wine in mind and join the Italian Food Wine Travel group of wine writers virtually while I am in Roma in person! 

On my own, with the guidance of Lugana winemaker Giovanna Prandini, and with the company of American singer songwriter and new friend Kelly Costello, I quickly learned:

1. Pizza in Rome has a very thin crust and it is often folded over like a sandwich 
2. Even a very small Conad (chain) grocery store has an amazing selection of cheese, meats, greens, many of them organic 
3. The pasta in Italy, especially Roma, is as good as everyone says– if not better! It’s the water! 
4. Speaking of water, there are fountains, and water spigots everywhere, and the water table is not far down
5. To find local wine, look for the label “Roman Castelli” or so advised my seat mate on the place
6. Lazio IGT or DOP wines are also widely available and reasonably priced.
7. Finally, the wine from Lazio has improved significantly as the producers have shifted from quantity to quality and using more modern winemaking methods; we found some excellent examples

I enjoyed Lazio food and wine in two restaurants for lunch with Giovanna, and one restaurant for a late night dinner with Kelly, as well as in my hostel the Beehive on first night. Below is a quick report with links to instagram following, and links to other Italian Food Wine Travelers who wrote about Lazio this month.

Day 1 Rome, picnic in the hostel: Grechetto and Pecorino 

Rome is in the region of Lazio which is not as well known for wine as other areas. However, on the flight ftom LAX to Rome yesterday, I sat next to an Italian film director who suggested I look for wines that say Castelli Romani. I went to local grocery store and I found them!

I went with a different wine however for my late lunch early dinner yesterday at the hostel on our little balcony. This wine was 13 euros, and unfortunately, I found it to be too oxidized rather than as refreshing as I would have liked on a warm evening. It perked up when paired with pecorino– and it worked well with the octopus salad. 

Then I had some Roman style pizza here at the hostel–they have gatherings here most night with free food and affordable beverages! I had an aperol spritz for $5. This hostel is very clean, and everyone is so nice! 

Day 2: Lazio Wine and Cacio de Pepe, Rome’s Clotilde with Lugana Winemaker  Giovanni Prandini 

Late lovely lunch at Clotilde with Lugana winemaker Giovanna Prandini and her family. Located near the Parthenon, the restaurant plans to carry her wines — her sparkling would be so goooood with these regional specialties: fried artichokes in a mint cream sauce with nutmeg and bacon!! Omg ! And then their cacio de Pepe has spirals of fried zucchini! The square pasta is made fresh in house. Just wow. Went with a white wine blend with Malvasia and trebbiano from Lazio, and it went so well. I posted about it on Instagram (see below) while sitting beside the Parthenon drinking water from the fountain in front of it. The line to get in was huge because it was a free day because of the national holiday. More pictures to come!

This was such a wow lunch! And a wow pairing! I’d definitely recommend this restaurant as well!

Day 2: Lazio Wine Dinner at Osteria degli stolti with Kelly Costello 

I found a new friend in Kelly Costello! We both needed a place to stay since the Beehive was full. We met up there around 8pm, and by 9pm we found the most fun place to stay in Rome— Mancini Shabby House & Spa Roma!! We found our host owner Silvio at Osteria degli stolti — and we had dinner there too! So good! And thanks to guidance from the owner, we found a local Lazio wine from Kora of Nero Buono grapes to love with our dinner of arrostinciini and thin crust Italian pizza. 

Kora Nero Buono 

SRP: $30 at a restaurant
Grapes: Nero Buono 
Importer? 

Appearance: deep dark dense purple, violet rim, ruby, can’t see, density 

Aroma: earthy grape plum fresh  cherry tobacco, funk, 

Palate: tannins, structure, cherry, dry, long finish, black currant, velvety, cherry tobacco, grape, acidity,

Pairing: amazing with arrostocini, mushroom pizza with lots of cheese, with food very balanced, soft on palate, really responds to food, complement with earth flavors and rich of the pizza.

This wine wants cheese, needs cheese, give it cheese!  

Day 3: Lazio Wine Lunch at Matriciella with Giovanna Prandini:

I joined Giovanna Prandini and family again for lunch at Matricianella. We chose an ancestral method sparkling wine made of passerina from Lazio which paired so well with the fried appetizers: artichoke, squash flowers with mozzarella, anchovies. All so good! Didn’t pair as well with their classic pasta dish of tomato and bacon which is what the restaurant is named for… and was incredibly delicious with house made spaghetti pasta. The wine was better with the Roman version of salt cod!

 

Find more photos on Instagram! Scroll down for links.

For more wine from Lazio, check out:

• Andrea from The Quirky Cork shares “Arnaldo Caprai Grecante with Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad” 
• Camilla from Culinary Cam focuses on “From Lazio with Love – Bellone and Bruschette – an Ancient Grape & a Simple Appetizer”
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Enjoying the Food and Wine of Umbria”
• Susannah from Avvinare features “Cesanese del Piglio- A Bright Future”
• Jennifer from Vino Travels shares “Trebbiano Spoletino: Not all Trebbiano are the same”
• Katarina from Grapevine Adventures features “Rekindling Tradition: Five Producers Unite to Revive Orvieto DOC’s Native Grapes”

Day 1: Lazio Wine and dinner, purchased at Conad, Rome near Termini 

 

Day 2: Lazio Wine and Lunch, Rome’s Clotilde with Lugana Winemaker  Giovanni Prandini 

 

Day 2: Lazio Wine Dinner with Kelly Costello 

Day 3: Lazio Wine Lunch at Matriciella with Giovanna Prandini

 

 

For more of my adventures in Rome, check out my instagram page. (Also photos from adventures in Abruzzo and Veneto!)