The smell of wine wafts from home
cantinas ( wine cellars) as we wander around the cobbled streets of our medieval hilltop village. The
vendemmia is about to begin and local families are cleaning out wine barrels, preparing for the new harvest. We breathe in deeply and appreciate the smell we associate with early Autumn, in the Sabine Hills.
Less than an hour north of Rome, still undiscovered by mass tourism, lies a green and fertile region called the Sabine Hills. Here,
wine (as well as olive oil) has been produced for millennia and greatly appreciated in ancient Rome. The River Tiber, which eventually reaches Rome, provides the perfect soil composition for winemaking. Today, a small number of boutique wineries have emerged, thanks to the passion and creativity of their owners.
Some grapes that are grown here may be unusual, but they are the result of a process which involves reviving ancient traditional Italian varieties
The Italian Government has ruled that Sabine Hills 'D.O.C.' (Controlled designation of origin) wine should be a blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano grapes for red wine and Malvasia and Trebbiano for white. The local wineries also produce other blends of predominantly Central Italian grapes and also a range of single-grape wines. Visiting these Sabine Hills wineries is a wonderful experience and an opportunity to witness how wine is made naturally on a small scale, in a beautiful environment. All wines can be purchased at the wineries.
Tenuta di Rome Wine Tours: The winery that we visit during our Rome Wine Tour produce high-quality wines, on 111 acres of land. Apart from DOC Sabine Hills wines, this winery also produces excellent single-grape wines, including Syraz, Sangiovese, and Falanghina, a traditional white grape from the south.
In the cellar, there are about 400 barriques (small french oak barrels) and a number of large, traditional Italian oak barrels. There's even a mini-museum where ancient winemaking tools such as timber presses, vats, and barrels from at least 100 years ago are displayed.
It is absolutely worth a visit.
Rome Wine Tours
Colli Sabini
This winery is, in fact, a cooperative of small local wine producers. At Colli Sabini they are dedicated to producing excellent quality Sabine Hills DOC wines, and they have been the first winemakers in the area to be granted this 'stamp of quality', already by the 1970s. The Colli Sabini winery also has an interesting range of grappa, based on the distillation of grapes that are already used to produce wine.
Poggio Fenice
Back in 1974, a Scottish agronomist named Colin Fraser fell in love with the region and started a vineyard near the Village of Rocca Sinibalda. Today, the vineyard has been left in the hands of an Italian family of winemakers. Their passion is to produce slightly unusual wines, including Verzellino, which is white wine made out of the Sangiovese red grape and Cardellino rosé. Of course, the more traditional varieties, such as Sangiovese and Montepulciano, are also present.
Sabine Hills Winery Tours
Wine Tours Rome runs Sabine Hills winery tours in English, which include pick-up and return service to Fara Sabina Train Station (39 minutes from Rome Tiburtina train station). A
winery tour, olive oil tour, or a visit to the Sabine Hills can easily be done as a day trip from Rome.
How to get to Sabine Hills from Rome
Fara Sabina is the main railway station for exploring the Sabine Hills wineries. A direct train departs every 15 minutes from several stations in Rome (Ostiense, Trastevere and Tiburtina) to Fara Sabina-Montelibretti station. At the Fara Sabina station, we will meet you and drive you to our local winery as the first stop of your Half Day
Rome Wine Tour, with us.
If you are travelling with a car, the Sabine Hills is a beautiful place to base yourself, as there is so much to see and do.
© Guido Santi of Wine Tours Rome, winery tours in the Sabine hills, near Rome.
