Italy is home to some of the best and most unique wine regions in Europe. While many of the Architecture, Art and Planning students in Rome had already sampled some of the huge variety of wines available in grocery stores and specialty shops, we were all in for a treat when we went for a wine tasting and sommelier lesson at Ristorante Renato e Luisa on February 6th.
Renato was a charismatic teacher and demonstrated everything from the correct way to store wine (horizontally or slightly inverted so the cork doesn’t dry out), to whom to serve first when hosting a dinner party featuring the pope, the queen of England, and the mayor of New York City (first members of the clergy, then the eldest woman present at the table), to how to judge the alcohol content simply by swirling the wine around a glass (wines with higher alcohol contents are more viscous and have greater body). Through demonstrating the proper techniques for opening bottles of sparkling wine without causing undue amounts of noise or injuring spectators, describing the intricacies of Italian and French winemaking traditions, and explaining the logic of food and wine pairings, the mood of the evening alternated between exuberant dinner party and instructive Cornell-style lecture.
Beginning with a sparkling wine paired with a delicious selection of warm bread and antipasti, the aspiring artists, planners, and architects toasted another successful week of classes. Next, we moved onto a full-bodied white wine combined with a more substantial selection of cheeses, meats, and stuffed squash blossom appetizer. The official enology and sommelier lecture drew to a close as students jotted down their last notes between sips and bites. At last the main course arrived along with the most remarkable wine of the evening—a velvety red respite with the flavors of frutti di bosco, or wild forest berries. It was paired with a pasta dish that matched the richness of the wine with a tomato and meat sauce or—for the vegetarians in the room—an exquisite truffle oil and porcini dressing. If this couldn’t be topped, the dessert was stunning. An outstandingly creamy chocolate cake with homemade cream finished off the meal and another magical night in Rome.
