I was lucky enough to be in Rome at just the right time. Last weekend, some great friends, Erica and Hande decided to organize a “Franciacorta night” among friends. And some of my favorite Rome expat bloggers were there, too.
The locale? vino roma on the lungotevere, along the Tiber river just above the Castel Sant’Angelo, where Hande and her husband, who are both sommeliers, run wine tastings and other events.
The star of the evening? Franciacorta, a sparkling wine that comes from Lombardy, in the region where I live. Franciacorta has a DOCG status, controlled designation of origin guaranteed, which means only wine using grapes from the Franciacorta area can be called so. I can’t articulate all of its qualities (ask Hande about them), but I definitely appreciate its crisp bubbliness, and it’s one of my favorite things to drink. So I was more than ready to concentrate on the theme for the evening.
We all brought a bottle each of Franciacorta to share. When we arrived, we went up to the roof with everyone to enjoy a crisp glass of Franciacorta and bottles #1, 2, 3, and 4.
Where else can you get a view of Rome like this?
St. Peter’s in the distance – the view is only marred by yet another crane hovering above it (cranes a very normal sight in Milan)
The sunset washed everything with a golden glow, and I set about taking pictures of all the people present.
Our lovely hosts, Hande and Theodor – aren’t they cute together? :)
We came back downstairs to pop bottles #5, 6, 7, and 8.
This cheese not only aesthetically pleased me, but I couldn’t stop nibbling at it – formaggio con mirto – cheese with myrtle berries, the same berries when distilled that become the Sardinian liquer mirto.
A perfect aperitivo, Franciacorta accompanied by a 5-grain zucchini and pesto salad that I whipped up in my friend’s kitchen, a summer eggplant salad, and lots and lots of cheese and pizza bianca (and yes, I made sure to get a fresh piece at Roscioli.
Souvenirs from the event – wine corks and vino roma brochures. Corks from bottles #9 and 10 went right on top.
Bottles #11 and 12. And the pièce de résistance, the roasted porchetta head! After the body slices were devoured, the head was set up and cracked up by none other than Ms. Katie Parla, who made quick work of getting to the good parts.
I definitely recommend checking out vino roma if you’re headed to Rome. They do wine tasting, wine & cheese lunch, Rome food tours, and sparkling wine events, too!
vino roma: Drink wine. Not too much. Mainly Italian.
http://www.vinoroma.com/
To see other pictures from our evening, check Un’Americana a Roma’s round-up.