In Italy, there is still a slight stigma attached to the notion of drinking wine without a meal. Traditionally, it was something only done by alcoholic peasant farmers and it has taken decades to sell Italians on the concept of the wine bar. Perhaps that's why the idea of an enoteca (originally the word for a wine retailer) that serves good food as well as fine wine has really taken off in recent years. This is particularly true in Rome, where some enoteche offer food that is outstandingly good, inexpensive or both - an important consideration at a time when the euro remains strong. The only problem for outsiders is that the word enoteca is now applied to a wide range of establishments, from what we would call off-licences to restaurants that were once wine bars. Here are 10 of the best, from the ritziest to the least pretentious.
Casa Bleve
Calling this a wine bar is a bit like calling Windsor Castle a second home. Beyond the shop, through tall glass doors, lies a high-ceilinged dining room that was once the courtyard of a 16th-century palazzo. When the owners were adapting the cellars below, they uncovered the wall of a 2,000-year-old reservoir that was used to flood what is now the Piazza Navona for mock naval battles. The house specialities are its cheeses and cold meats, which are exquisite but pricey - a plate will cost €20-30.
• Via del Teatro Valle 48/49 (0039 06 68 65 970, casableve.it)
Al Bric
A tranquil retreat, just a few hundred yards from the boisterous, boozy Campo dei Fiori, Al Bric is really more of a restaurant with an unusual emphasis on wine. The menus, which change from summer to winter, offer substantial and imaginative fare, but the house speciality is its range of cheeses, which are laid out temptingly in the window-front. The decor is alluring and at night the place has a warm and welcoming glow when seen from the cobbled street. A great place for lovers.
• Via del Pellegrino 51-52 (+06 68 79 533, bric.it)
Enoteca Ferrara
Rome's most surprising enoteca - and possibly its best. The unsignposted exterior conceals a gastronomic archipelago of rooms: bar, shop, wine bar, restaurant and more modestly priced osteria with a partly covered terrace. The rooms are small - the oldest section of the building is 15th century - and the lighting makes it all seem cosy. It's not cheap, though: a restaurant meal will set you back €50-55 a head without wine. But the cuisine is outstanding and inventive, and the wine lists (one each for red and white) offer 1,300 possibilities. Though located on Rome's most cosmopolitan square, the clientele is predominantly Roman.
• Via del Moro 1a (+06 58 33 3920, enotecaferrara.it)
Del Frate
At this elegant enoteca in the sedate Prati district you can help yourself to an impressive range of tapa-like appetisers while sampling wine by the glass at the bar. Otherwise, you can eat a la carte at one of the slate-topped tables. A lot of customers help themselves to a selection of delicacies from the bar and then order a main course off the menu. Try for a table in one of the bottle-lined rooms on the left as you enter.
• Via degli Scipioni 118 (+06 32 36 437)
Trimani il Wine Bar
To find gourmet cooking near Termini railway station is hard enough. But to get it at the prices charged here is little short of miraculous. Trimani is Rome's oldest wine seller, founded in 1821. The wine bar, which once served rudimentary snacks, now offers such delicacies as zucchini-packed pastry in a brie sauce topped with a poached egg and garnished with roast baby tomatoes for €8. The only drawback is the uninspiring decor (though distinctly better downstairs than upstairs). Still, at such prices, who cares?
• Via Cernaia 37b (+06 44 69 630, trimani.com)
Palatium
This is the closest approximation to a modern British wine bar you'll find in Rome - but with an important difference. Palatium, in the heart of Rome's fashion district, is owned by the Lazio regional government and acts as a showcase for local wines and food, which you can buy here at a reasonable price. It is also an ideal place for a relaxed light (but not too light) lunch while shopping in the centre. Almost 200 local wines and more than 1,000 local products are on offer.
• Via Frattina 94 (+06 69 20 2132, enotecapalatium.it)
Il Goccetto
The fronting still proclaims its original status as a vendor of "Vino e Olio". Softly lit and shelved from floor to fine stencilled ceiling with bottles, this late 19th-century establishment has made the journey from retailer to drinking spot with quiet style. Il Goccetto's knowledgeable owner, Sergio Ceccarelli, specialises in wines from smaller vineyards across Italy. There are around 1,000 for sale and prices start at €3.50 a glass. The selection of appetisers is small and simple but tasty. With its friendly service and unfussy charm, Il Goccetto is a popular rendezvous for pre-dinner drinks.
• Via dei Banchi Vecchi 14 (+06 6864 268)
L'Enoteca Antica
The food is appetising but not exceptional. The decor is neither arrestingly chic nor engagingly grungy. The service is brisk, and can be impersonal. Yet it is hard to believe anyone has a bad evening at this bustling enoteca near the Spanish Steps. There is some kind of alchemy at work. You can nibble at the bar (a popular pick-up spot) or eat a full meal at one of the many tables at the back and in the street outside, picking your dishes off the chalkboards dotted around.
• Via della Croce 76b (+06 67 90 896, anticaenoteca.com)
Enosteria Capolecase
Wine must run in Ilaria Paiella's veins. Her father, Agostino, runs a splendid old enoteca in the city centre. Ilaria used to wait tables there with her sisters, before leaving the fold and travelling to Australia. She returned with a chef boyfriend and a burning ambition to found her own establishment. Heart and soul goes into her enosteria, which continues the family tradition of serving appetising food at reasonable prices (€7-8 for primi, €10-15 secondi). Wines range from "honest bottles" at around €10 to Grand Crus for €100.
• Via Capo le Case 53 (+06 67 86 115, enosteriacapolecase.com)
Ai Tre Scalini
On the ground floor of an ivy-clad building in the increasingly modish Monti district, Ai Tre Scalini (not to be confused with a restaurant with a similar name in Piazza Navona), with its eclectically decorated, cheerfully scruffy interior attracts a predominantly young crowd, which spills out into the street. It's not hard to see why this place is popular - you can order a filling snack for €7 and most of the wines are €4-5 a glass. Ai Tre Scalini also stages a range of events from book presentations to art exhibitions.
• Via Panisperna 251, 00184 Roma (+06 48 90 7495, aitrescalini.org)
