Cantine Eredi dei Papi Is Close To Rome And Waiting For You

Vineyards close to Rome like the Cantine Eredi dei Papi are a beautiful place to visit, taste some wines and meet the delightful owners who love what they do.

cantine eredi dei papi - olive trees — Olive Trees

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The area around Rome has a lot to offer the traveling wine lover. I hope this guide will encourage you to experience the best Italian wines that Lazio has to offer. Not to be missed is the wine from the Cantine Eredi dei Papi vineyard. Originating from the vineyards inherited from their grandfather, their obvious passion for the fantastic wines of Lazio and with the goal of showing the potential of the region, the brother/sister pair of Chiara and Lorenzo Iacoponi continue to drive the success of this vineyard.

Who Was The Ancient Roman God Of Wine?

cantine eredi dei papi - Fiat In The Vines

Any discussion of Italian wine should begin with a little bit of history. In the ancient Roman culture, Liber was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. A festival in his honor was held on March 17th, which became associated with free speech and the rights of adulthood. Interestingly, although the holiday isn’t known in modern times, March 17th is now St. Patrick’s Day, which by US standards is celebrated as a day of bacchanalia.

That brings us to another Roman god of Wine. They called him Bacchus, and he was the unrestrained Roman god of wine and revelry, religious ecstasy, and frenzied creativity. His mythology was influenced by the Greek god Dionysus. The modern day bacchanals and bacchanalia have come to mean any occasion of wild and drunken revelry.

Are Vineyards Like Cantine Eredi dei Papi Good?

cantine eredi dei papi - entrance to vineyard — Entrance To Vineyard

I have come to learn that there are amazing wines all over Italy, and the Lazio region is no exception. Many people in the US are familiar with the wines of Tuscany, and there are quite a few amazing vineyards in Tuscany, but a fantastic option when you are visiting Rome is the wine selection from other regions in Italy, like Lazio. In my opinion, Tuscan wines have benefited from unusually strong coordination of promotion and marketing internationally leading to popularity around the world. They are, however, also delicious.

What Wine Is Rome Known For?

The wines of Lazio are influenced by the volcanic soil, and the result is a selection of delicious white wines from areas like the well-known Frascati. The Roman red wines are not as high profile, but they are growing in popularity. Some of the more popular are those made from Sangiovese, Cesanese, Montepulciano, Merlot and Syrah. All in all, there are more than 200 grape varieties in the area.

Are There Vineyards Close To Rome?

Luckily for me, there are quite a few vineyards near Rome. Until recently, I had a view of Rome that was limited to the Centro Storico, traveling mostly around the historical center.

cantine eredi dei papi - vines and hills — Vines and Hills

I’ve been more recently venturing beyond the GRA (Grande Raccordo Anulare), which is the highway that circles Rome. Once you go beyond the GRA, the landscape changes to include hills, farms, vineyards and other beauties of Rome that aren’t usually considered.

A Favorite Winery Near Rome

One of my favorite realizations about Rome is how much I enjoy Lazio wines. Because of this, I decided to travel around to wineries nearby, and this week I visited the Cantine Eredi dei Papi vineyard, which is a winery near Colonna in the Castelli Romani area, which is not very far from the Sanctuary of Divine Love and Castel Gandolfo. This beautiful vineyard offers a great selection of organic wines, both red and white, in a setting that is so breathtaking that you will easily forget that you are only an hour from the Colosseum.

The Wines Of Cantine Eredi dei Papi

The vineyard offers a range of reds, whites and spumante that are produced from vines that are over 30 years old, organically managed, and the wine is handled as little as possible in the cellar to enhance varietal characteristics and territory.

Their primary goal is to produce wines of the best Italian wines that are “Made in Lazio“. Because of this, the terroir is inseparable from the identity of the company which aims to become its ambassador on the national and international wine scene.

cantine eredi dei papi - wine selection — Wine Selection

Their Limited Edition wines are the result of experimentation and innovative oenological techniques. Intense focus is put on the selection of the best grape bunches, prolonged aging in steel and wood, handmade shellac seals and the numbering of each single bottle are the details that exemplify the craftsmanship and care dedicated to Neralbo and Galatea, the wines that make up these wines.

The Spumante wine, Fuorionda, is a sparkling wine made according to the classic method with procedures carried out strictly by hand. Fuorionda is a novelty in the Lazio and non-Lazio wine scene. It combines the tradition of the art of sparkling wine with the drive to give life to a “pop” sparkling wine for a contemporary public.

Does Cantine Eredi dei Papi Have Vino Sfuso?

I have written about vino sfuso previously and it is something I enjoy greatly. As recently as last week, we had a vino della casa at our local favorite restaurant and it was a delicious, refreshing and inexpensive addition to our meal.

cantine eredi dei papi - bottled and vine sfuso — Bottled and Vino Sfuso

Vino Sfuso in Italy has had a bad reputation, but from as far back as I can remember it has been a favorite of mine and many artisan producers today produce excellent vini sfusi. Simple and tasty but above all light and suitable for daily consumption. “Wine is not a drink, it is a liquid food.” is how the head of the National Food Safety Committee of the Ministry of Health expressed the food value of wine.

The Cantine Eredi dei Papi vineyard does offer vino sfuso, which was a pleasant surprise for me. You can bring your own 5L container, or buy one from them, and enjoy their delicious reds and whites inexpensively, but deliciously.

How Can I Reach The Vineyards Close To Rome?

Like many vineyards in this region, the easiest way to reach this vineyard is to drive. However, if you are visiting Rome and you don’t have a car, you have a couple options. The first option is to take a Regional TrenItalia train from Termini Station to the Colonna Galleria stop, which takes around 30 minutes and costs €2.10 each way. This is an easy ride, but be prepared that there are a lot of hills on the estimated 20 minute walk between the station and the vineyards.

cantine eredi dei papi - vineyard view — Vineyard View

The other option, which Chiara and Lorenzo informed me of, is the Metro C stop that can easily bring you back and forth between the vineyard area and Rome’s historical center. From the vineyard it is a downhill walk, which is 3 miles (4.7 km) long and takes just under an hour. I would recommend this when you are leaving, but when you are arriving, this is a very long uphill climb that I wouldn’t recommend. Another warning is that these roads don’t have sidewalks and they are pretty busy in parts. That said, I survived and got a nice workout.

Learn more about the Drinking Culture In Italy

If you enjoyed this post and would like to learn more about the joys of wineries around me in the Lazio region of Italy, you will also enjoy some of these posts as well: