The 200 super-wines at the Food&Wine Festival

The Roma Food & Wine Festival, in its second edition, offers the chance to taste high cuisine dishes from some of the best chefs in Italy, starting from Massimo Bottura and Niko Romito (we’ve already talked about it here), together with some very great wines, an extraordinary itinerary, discovering 200 bottles – mostly Italians but with some border crossings – that are part of the 2014 selection of the Merano WineFestival, thus guaranteed by Helmuth Köcher, the soul of “Merano” and the creator, together with Paolo Marchi of the first Food & Wine Festival, the one in Milan in 2011, from which all the others have been born. In other words, it will be a chance for an inviting journey, discovering the strong and intriguing connection between a recipe and a good glass of wine.

Almost all of the Peninsula is represented, thanks to producers from 15 regions. Abruzzo presents Cantina Zaccagnini and Citra Vini; Alto Adige–Südtirol Kettmeir and Tenute Ritterhof; Campania La Guardiense; Emilia Romagna Azienda Agricola Pupa, Cleto Chiarli and Tenuta Ferraia-Roberto Manara; Friuli Venezia Giulia Le Vigne di Zamò, Marco Felluga-Russiz Superiore, Scubla Roberto, Tenuta Ca' Bolani, Torre Rosazza and Zorzettig; Latium Casale del Giglio and Omina Romana; Liguria Cantine Lunae Bosoni; Lombardy Az. Agricola Cavalchina, Costaripa, Monte Rossa, Monte Cicogna e Provenza-Cà Maiol; Marche Cantina PS and Fulvia Tombolini; Piedmont Borgogno, Brandini, Cantina Mosparone, Fontanafredda, Mirafiore, Palladino, Pico Maccario and San Romano; Apulia Masseria San Magno and Vespa Vignaioli per Passione; Sardinia Vigne Rada Alghero; Sicily Baglio di Pianetto, Battaglia Graziella Cantina Gurrieri, Calatrasi e Miccichè and Feudo Ramaddini; Tuscany Banfi, Certosa di Belriguardo, Feudi Ghibellini, Lamole di Lamole and Querciabella; Trentino Cavit; Veneto Albarossa, Allegrini, Astoria Vini, Carlo Ferragù, Casa Vinicola Sartori, Col Vetoraz Spumanti, Secondo Marco, Serafini & Vidotto, Vineyards V8+ and Zardetto Spumanti. From abroad, we have Austrian Weingut Schwarzböck; Georgian Nina Ananiashvili & Wine Art; Slovenian Zanut and South African Allée Bleue Wines.

All these bottles are very interesting in terms of quality and sensorial characteristics and the visitors will then be able to buy them also from Eataly’s Enoteca. The participation of the producers represents a further interesting aspect and the chance to deepen the knowledge of each label, of the producers themselves and their philosophy.

Besides a rich programme of tastings and cooking shows, there will be two more daily events with some of the most established protagonists in the wine world, presented by Köcher and Costantino Gabardi, international gourmet expert and taster. On Saturday November 29th at 3 pm, the debut will be with Custoza Superiore doc from Cavalchina: a vertical tasting of 6 vintages of Amedeo from 2004 to 2013. At 6 pm it’s the turn of a red wine from Piedmont, with a vertical tasting of six vintages of Gaiun Martinenga, Barbaresco docg produced by Marchesi di Grésy in the Tenute Cisa Asinari. Alberto di Grésy himself will guide the tasting. On Sunday 30th at 3 pm there will be Lugana, and in particular a vertical tasting of six vintages of Molin Lugana dop by winery Provenza-Cà Maiol. The last event will be at 6 pm, with a vertical tasting of Amarone Classico Allegrini, again 6 vintages, from dal 2000 to 2010.

The Roma Food & Wine Festival is at Eataly Roma. Opening hours: Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th November from 11 to 10 pm; Monday December 1st from 11 to 6 pm. Online ticket presale here and at the info point: 15 euros per one day of tastings (wines only) or 20 euros per one day of tastings (wines + 1 one dish to choose); 30 euros for 3 days of tastings, wines only. The ticket office is also on the 3rd floor of Eataly, in piazza XII ottobre 1492, Rome, underground stop Roma Ostiense. For more info: romafoodandwine@magentabureau.it.