The Best Winery Near Me In Rome Might Be Tenuta Le Quinte

The best winery near me in Rome, Italy could be Tenuta Le Quinte in the Frascati region outside of the city, which is an area any wine lover needs to embrace.

The Tenuta Le Quinte Wine Cellar is immersed in the hills of the Castelli Romani, among vineyards and cellars and between classic methods and innovation. This company has, for 4 generations, been engaged in what it considers to be the most beautiful job in the world: producing their wines from the land.

Where Is The Best Winery Near Me?

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.

Are There Vineyards Near Rome?

Luckily for me, there are quite a few vineyards near Rome. Until recently, I had a Centro Storico view of Rome, traveling mostly around the historical center. I’ve been 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 farms, vineyards and other beauties of Rome that aren’t usually considered.

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.

The Best Winery Near Me In Rome Is Possibly Tenuta Le Quinte

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 weekend was a chance to visit Tenuta Le Quinte, which is a winery near Colonna in the Castelli Romani area, which is not very far from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love and Castel Gandolfo.

This beautiful vineyard offers a selection of organic wines, both red and white, and what they call a cantina, which is a selection of delicious products that go well beyond just wine. The setting is beautiful, even during the winter, and you can easily forget that you are only an hour from the Colosseum.

The Wines Of The Rome Vineyard Tenuta Le Quinte

The Tenuta Le Quinte vineyard offers red, whites, spumantes as well as distilled liquors and beer. 

Their white wines include: 

• Orchidea is created from vines native to Lazio and it produces a white wine with straw yellow reflections and hints of ripe fruit and flowers.

• Canestraro comes from an ancient white grape for a wine with greenish reflections, great personality and with fruity and floral scents.

• Trecciole is a blend of early harvested native Lazio grapes that produces a dry, full, and balanced wine.

• Virtu’ Romane is made from spotted Malvasia grapes, green and yellow Trebbiano, Tuscan, Bellone and Bonvino. This wine is elegant, intense, with a great aromatic, soft and structured complexity, and finishes with a light freshness.

• Calice is an extra dry sparkling wine (Spumante) made from Trebbiano Verde grapes that produce a fruity bouquet with a fresh and velvety taste.

Of their red wines:

• Onirico Rosso is a red wine made from the blue-black grapes of the vine of the same name, with hints of red berry fruits. It has a permanent, intense taste with soft tannins and velvety, with flavors of humus and berries.
• Rasa di Marmorata is a dark red wine, refined, enveloping in perfumes, of excellent structure and a long persistence taste. 
• Primula Lucis is another red wine with purplish reflections, with scents they evoke black cherry, musk, and licorice. On the palate it is full, warm, soft, decisive, with refined and constant tannins. 
• Nasyr is from an ancient black grape, with purplish nuances and pungent and enveloping hints.  The taste is full, decisive, spicy and elegant.

Does The Best Winery Near Me In Rome Have Vino Sfuso?

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

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 Tenuta Le Quinte 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. Anecdotally, I can confirm that this is a pretty popular option with what I expect are people that live locally because while I was there there was a steady stream of people bringing their own 5L containers to get their €9 refills.

What Else Does Tenuta Le Quinte Have To Offer?

In addition to their wide selection of wines that I’ve detailed above, they also offer products from other producers, like: Prosecco, Spumante, Champagne, Rum, Whiskey, Tequila and Grappa. To pair with these fantastic drinks, you can also buy honeys, flours, jams, sweets and cookies. There are also pastas and jarred foods that would make for a fantastic meal for the wine lover in you.

How To Reach The Tenuta Le Quinte Wine Cellar

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.

The other option 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 if you are happily loaded down with wine. I would recommend this when you are leaving and not when you are arriving because it 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. If you aren’t trying to save money, a cab would probably be your next friend.

Learn More About Wine Culture In Italy

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

• One Of The Vineyards Close To Rome I Love Is Cantine Eredi dei Papi.
• Villa Simone Is A Winery Near Rome You Should See.
• L’Orto di Alberico Is One Of My Favorite Vineyards Near Rome, Italy.
• One Of The Wineries Near Rome, Italy You Need To Check Out Is Tenuta di Pietra Porzia.
• A Tourist’s Guide To The Frascati Lazio Wine Region.
• Why Italian House Wine, Known As Vino Sfuso, Should be In Your Future.
• The Drinking Age In Italy Is Only Part Of The Culture.
• Learn The Difference Between Prosecco And Sparkling Wine.
• Enjoy Italian Bitters Before And After Dinner.
• The Classic Italian Cocktails For Your Next Happy Hour.