Quick overview: The origins of wine are lost in themists of time. In Genesis, it is written that "Noah began to work the earth and to plant vines. And he drank wine and became drunk." The fact is, we don't know who first undertook this most fortunate enterprise. But the recent discovery of traces of the wine-making process near a Neolithic village (around 5000 BC) in Turkey tells us that the story is an old one indeed! In this story, traditions of millennia past are met and melded from all over the Mediterranean world. It is a story of the careful selection of terrain, of plants, of sun and of shade, the blending of grapes, wood for casks, that over centuries developed the richness and variety that we have today. The ancient Romans, especially during the centuries of unprecedented wealth and uncontested power (from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD), were refined consumers and continually sought ever richer and more select vendages. The Renaissance ushered in a renewed appreciation, and princes and popes lavished guests in their banquet halls with such magnificent libations that wine became the very symbol of the great Mediterranean cultures. The writer Marsius (1st century AD) wrote, "If you want to drink wine, you'll spend a sestertium; good wine will cost you two. But if you want the magical Falerno, you'll need to be prepared to pay six!" And truly magical are some of the scents that play on our senses as well as on our sentiments. What ideas are inspired, what emotions evoked, by a good glass of wine! It is perhaps no mere accident that in the ancient cult of Bacchus, god of wine, one of the culminating moments of the celebration was the resurrection of the god and of his followers' experience of it as part of the festival of the harvest and the new wine.

The tour we invite you on is itself a feast: 3 hours of a feats of wine in the most romantic side-streets of Rome, accompanied by one of our brilliant guides, who, like an old friend, will lead you through the ancient traditions of selecting, tasting, and enjoying a fine glass of wine while stopping here and there to admire extraordinary works of art. From Campo de' Fiori to Trastevere, from Piazza Farnese to Ponte Sisto, we'll stop in at some of the loveliest wine bars in the area, patronized principally by Italians, to sip a glass of wine before dinner, as our grandparents did. Thanks to such a tremendous selection, you'll be able to enter into the world of colors, fruits, spices, noses, palettes, tastes, and after-tastes of wine. And maybe, just maybe, you'll see the work in a different way; a spark to the imagination, a flame to the heart, a shimmering light into the ardent secrets of our own souls, reflected in a good glass of wine. All along the way, our wines will be accompanied by delicious cheeses and salamis, also the products of thousands of years of traditions from up and down the Italian peninsula. An evening for learning and loving wine, for spending a bit of time in the enchanting atmosphere of timeless Rome; for feasting, for toasting, for loading up our emotional suitcases and making new friends.

One stop in particular will be in a wine bar where we'll make a special toast to Julius Caesar, murdered just a few steps away in 44 BC. All in all, a full experience of Italian tradition and culture in the most authentic way, with a friend who has chosen Rome as home, for living and for dreaming. We're expecting you!

Some themes of the tour: As far back as 2000 years ago vineyards were passionately cultivated on this land. Splendid testimony of the level of mastery attained by the Romans in the wine-making process is preserved in the ruins of Ercolano and Pompei : they often used honey , spices , herbs and sea water to add flavour and stability to the wines destined for the ageing process . In Italy wine is produced in the regions spanning from the Alps right through to Sicily . As a result of the different climate and quality of soil , there are very diverse wines produced. Each of these must be accompanied by the right food which enhances the flavour and counterbalances the bouquets of the wine . Only in this way will a good wine give that pleasurable heady sensation which renders it unique and without substitute. And without which it would be impossible to fully experience the colours and moods of this sun kissed and passionate land or to fully understand its art and history . First and foremost, the cult of Bacchus , God of wine , which was disperse in all of the Mediterranean basin and often prohibited even in the imperialist age because of celebrations that culminated in frenzied fertility rituals . During the evening our guide will recount some of the most captivating myths and legends surrounding wine, such as, the birth of Bacchus and The Drunkenness of Noah depicted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.