Honeymoon, Part II

Shane’s Notes

Rome

We caught the train from Florence to Rome. On the train, I noticed that my wedding ring was not on my finger. The ring is about a half a size too large so I figured it slipped off my finger somewhere. I was right, but fortunately, it had slipped off my finger while I was looking through my backpack. I found it at the bottom of the backpack when we pulled into Rome. We took the metro to the Piazza del Popolo, found the correct bus station and took tram #2 out to the Hotel Astrid. The hotel was on the outskirts of Rome and provided Jen with one of her favorite sights in Rome – a bathtub.

After settling in, we headed out to the Spanish Steps and had an early dinner at an outdoor café. The food was decent. Our wine was the Rosato Salento 2005 Primoconte for 21 Euros. It was a very nice Rose – it was tangy, sweet and tart. The palate was dominated by cranberry with a touch of watermelon in the background. We scribbled down “Excellent!”

For our first full day in Rome, we visited the Coliseum, the Palatine Hill and the Forum. It was a long, hot day so we headed back to the hotel early. We ventured out again and went to a restaurant near our hotel. It was a local restaurant serving rustic, authentic Italian food. We enjoyed it so much that we ate there several times during our week in Rome. On this particular night, I had the Pasta Amitriciana – how can you pass up pasta with bacon? For wine, we had a Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2000, Core Alla Flora for 19 Euros. It was a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Prugnolo Gentili. It was tangy with a concentrated raspberry flavor. It had a long finish.

Back at the hotel, we went to the bar and I had a Brachetto d’Acqui for 5 Euros. It wasn’t bad. Although a red, I’d serve it very cold. It showed some sweet red fruit with cola and raspberry flavors. It’s definitely a dessert wine.

Our next day was spent at the Capitoline Museums and the Maria Maggiore. We had some time to waste before our evening concert so we stopped at a café and had a bottle of 2005 Terre dei Grifi Frascati, 2005. It was a very refreshing white wine. It was tangy with peach and melon flavors. It was very ripe, very concentrated and fun to drink.

Our next day in Rome was a very long day. The concert had kept us up late and we were tired. After going to the Etruscan museum in the morning, we had a short rest at the hotel before heading back out. We visited five churches in the afternoon and really enjoyed the last few. We found a nice outdoor café in the Trastavere and opened up our wallet for what turned out to be the best dinner of the trip. The restaurant was attached to a wine shop so the wine list was essentially as big as the wine shop.

We decided to try one of the Killer B’s, so we ordered a 2001 Barolo, Cantina Terre del Barolo (Il Pastarellaro). It was a powerful wine and could definitely use some bottle age. The waiter recommended that we let it sit for about 20 minutes and we complied. When it opened up, it was magnificent. The palate showed very subtle flavors and a high degree of complexity. The flavors were evanescent and each sip brought a different flavor – orange peel, violets, herbs, etc. It was truly amazing and reminded me of a great Pinot. It really complimented the rotisserie chicken with potatoes that we ordered. The chicken was as good as the wine. It was rich, very tasty and well spiced. I never knew you could get that much flavor out of chicken.

After the meal, Jen ordered a very fancy cheese plate and I asked for some Vin Santo. The wine shop owner personally delivered the cheese plate and gave us a description of all the cheeses. He then produced a bottle of wine that had “Muffo” on the label. He assured us it was better than Vin Santo and told us that he would bring the Vin Santo if we didn’t like the Muffo. We were very skeptical but agreed to take a sip. We tried it and were astounded – it was one of the best dessert wines we have ever tasted. We immediately recognized that the rich, unctuous texture could have only been produced by botrytis. However, the Muffo was richer then a Sauternes. It also lacked the minerality of a Sauternes, but the palate was so lush and complex that it hardly mattered. The palate showed Apricot, Apple and crème caramel. It was spicy and grapey with an ultra long finish. We couldn’t believe the richness and complexity. If you ever find a Muffo, you have to try it.

Our next day in Rome was the highlight of this leg of the trip. We visited St. Peter’s and the Vatican. The line for the Vatican Museums was gargantuan, but we actually only waited about an hour. Once inside, you just have to put up with the crowds that get worse the closer you get to the Sistine Chapel. It is worth it – the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel along with Michelangelo’s Last Judgment are two of the most spectacular works of art you will ever see. Unfortunately, this is the day the rain started and we had left our rain gear back at the hotel. We walked around for awhile and got soaked. We finally gave up and headed back to our hotel. We grabbed our rain resistant wind breakers and ventured back to our favorite local restaurant. We tried a carafe of the house red. I’m assuming it was a Chianti. There wasn’t much to it – it wasn’t fruity or concentrated. It was simply a little tangy and then it disappeared into a dry finish. It was serviceable and a decent food wine.

The next day, we headed over to the Doria Pamphilj and went to the Museo Nazionale Romano after lunch. The Pamphilj had some really nice paintings by Velazquez, Brughels and Lorrain. The Roman Museum (Museo Romano Nazionale) turned out to be one of our favorite sights in Rome. If you have any interest in Ancient Rome, this is a must see sight. It simply had a little of everything from the Roman period – a mummy, jewelry, everyday objects, a massive coin collection, great statuary and amazing wall paintings and floor mosaics.

I tried to talk Jen into going to the Hard Rock Café for dinner but I was unsuccessful. I did enjoy Italian food but I was also dying for good ol’ American hamburger! Instead, we went to the Alex Café on the Via Veneto. We had the Cordero di Montezemolo,
2001 Dolcetto d’Alba for 25 Euros with dinner. It was deeply scented with sweet berry fruit. That palate was jammy with dirt and mineral underneath. It was a serious wine with a long finish.

Back at the hotel, we went to the bar and I had a Barbera d’Alba, Fret Superiore 2003 for 6.5 Euros. It showed some mild red fruit but it was a bit dry and oaky for my tastes.

On our last day in Rome, we actually left Rome to see the ruins at Ostia Antica. We really enjoyed it, but once again, it was raining. We made sure we saw the well-preserved floor mosaics and the ancient Roman toilets and then headed to the café for some warmth. We each had a spliff of Prosecco with lunch – Cantine Maschio, Extra Dry. It had a sweet, tangy, intense lemony flavor. It was more bubbly and sweeter than California sparklers. I really enjoyed it.

For dinner that night, we had a Regret 2004 Langhe Nebbiolo for 18 Euros. Unfortunately, it was served too warm so it’s hard to give an accurate assessment of this one. It was perfumey and the palate showed orange peel. It had decent concentration but not the haunting complexity of a good Nebbiolo.