Any wine store recommendations for Rome, Milan & Venice?

I will be traveling to Italy in August and was hoping to get some wine store recommendations in these 3 cities…

Thanks!

Marco DeFreitas

Hi Marco
Although worth a look, (Milano) Peck’s wine department was an excellent showpiece of every well-known/prestigious label. An almost perfect assemblage. Except that made it one of the most boring experiences going, with no ‘hidden or quirky gems’. Whoever bought for that place must have had very good knowledge, yet must have been frustrated as anything that they couldn’t follow their own taste-buds. However if you want a big name wine, it will be there (albeit pretty pricey, but this is THE food shop in Milano - or at least the most prestigious, and Milano is a city that respects these things). They’re on Via Victor Hugo, number 4. I’d recommend seeing the shop, but I’d generally buy from other food shops in the immediate area.

I don’t know if they have a bricks and mortar shop or are just online, but Callmewine (also Milano) have a very good range, well-priced (and delivery is in bomb-proof styro shippers).

No wine shops in my limited crib notes from back in 2006 - a very poor show as I usually get a lot of grief when we ‘accidentally’ stumble across a wine shop, that I purely coincidentally happen to have listed on my crib sheet. The defence rests m’lud.

regards
Ian

In Rome:
Costantini Wine cellar
Cavour Public square, 16
00193 Rome - Italy
telephone: +39 06 3203575 email: info@pierocostantini.it

Cool cellar under the street.

In Rome:
Enoteca Bulzoni in viale Parioli: http://www.enotecabulzoni.it/
(but don’t trust the online store, which is not quite up to date, just go there or call).

or Enoteca Lucantoni: www.webdivino.com

or Trimani: http://www.trimani.com/

Trimani in Rome is decent. Nice little winebar/food operation. The shop is good but a touch spendy depending on what you’re after. Seems like the further out of central Rome you get, the better the pricing. Found a place called Enoteca Rocchi to the northeast (other side of Villa Borghese on Via Alesandro Scarlatti). Nothing spectacular…but a very solid selection, quite helpful (some English) and better pricing.

Enoteca Ronchi in Milan along with N’Ombra de Vin which has apparently gotten trendy.

RT

Trimani has air con.

When I was in Constantini in 03, the cellar was notably warm and this was after a little after the killer heat wave.

Thanks for all the recommendations. Based on Google street view, it doesn’t look like callmewine in Milan has a retail space, but shipping to my hotel is doable.

Thanks again!

I’m curious what the pricing is like there compared to in the US?

How are you going to get the wine back to the US?

I’ll be bringing a Wine Check with me. Worked great on my trip to Portugal last year…

+1 Peck in Milano. . Pricey but worth the visit even if you do not buy anything. True wine porn.

I hate to give away secrets, but Winetip in Milan is outstanding (WineTip Home Page). They sell to private clients by appointment as well as act as a distributor for restaurants in the Milan area. Their inventory is pretty astounding, with many great deals to be had. For instance, they sell Valentini Cerasuolo for 35 Euro ($66 in a 4-pack today from Crush) and 2008 Produtorri del Barbaresco Paje (24 Euro) and Ovello (26 Euro compared to ~ $55-60 in US) all the way up to Quintarelli Amarone back to 1966 and Massetto to 1993.

For the prices above you need to add VAT (21%) then get refunded at the airport if you are taking the wine out of the EU. The net ends up being ~ 7% added to the above prices, including fees for Global Blue.

I travel to Milan ~ 1x per quarter and bring 2 cases empty to bring back full. Note they do NOT ship to the US due - they used to, but had too many issues w/ wines held in customs for months on end.

How much did the airline charge to take the box and approx. how much does it weigh full?

p. s. The only one store I shopped at in Rome was the

Enoteca Costantini
Piazza Cavour, 16
00193 Roma.

Their selection was pretty good but thee pricing seemed higher than you could pick up stateside (if you could find it).

I like Trimani quite a bit. Bought a bunch of 2000 Giacosa Riserva Santi Stefano there several years ago for a good price.

Brian, thanks for the rec. I placed an order for delivery across the border to France. I wouldn’t have done it without your post.

It was was super hot in stone this summer, unless Costantini put in air con wheRe they keep the older wines ( downstairs, but many years ago), I’d stick to Trimani

Hi Marco,

I haven’t specifically tried to hunt down good wine shops on my trips to Venice (I have family there), but those that I have visited have generally been freakishly expensive and preying on the tourist market. One that is well worth a look is Cantine del Vino già Schiavi on Fondamenta Nani just off the Giudecca, perhaps 50 metres along from the San Trevaso gondola building workshop. It’s an enoteca/bar/casual restaurant. A better than average range of wines at fair prices. My only reservation would be that the place can get pretty hot in high summer, so it may be better suited as a place to pick up nice bottles to drink while you are in Venice, rather than to take home with you?

Great place! Had cicchetti and franciacorta there.

Adriatico Mar near Ca’Foscari sells a few nice wines, as in Slovenian skin contact Malvazija.

I was recently at Costantini Wine cellar. They will sell you a six pack styro shipper if you need. Also, their Amaro selection is beyond awesome.

i was just in venice a couple of weeks ago and did not walk by a single wine shop that looked legit. the best selection of bottles to go were at a wonderful but certainly overpriced wine bar called vino vero. however, the takeaway price seemed like it would be on par with what a restaurant would be charging…