Wine Tasting Day Trip from Rome in Frascati, Italy

There are some wonderful wine bars in Rome, but nothing quite compares to raising a glass in the vineyard where it was produced.

Luckily, Lazio’s reputation for quality vino is slowly improving and it is more than possible to escape the city for an afternoon at a winery.

One of the best day trips from Rome for wine tasting is to aim in the direction of Frascati.

Not far from the town (which is charming and full of lunch options itself) is the Merumalia winery.

The family-run winery is so close to Rome that you can see the edge of the suburbs from their beautiful terrace. However, most of the view is taking up with rolling green hills and vineyards as far as the eye can see.

When I visited a few weeks ago, the vendemmi (harvest) was going strong.

For many years, the Fusco family grew grapes and sold the harvest to other wine makers. When they decided to create their own label, the family went through the time consuming process of certifying all their vineyards as 100% organic.

The harvest is done by hand, and Giulia Fusco explained to us that Merumalia still hires mainly women to help with the vendemmia because the Frascati area has a long tradition of women leading the grape harvest.

The winery grows several varieties of DOC grapes including Lazio Malvasia, Greco Bianco and Bombino.

(Frascati, it should be noted, is best known for its white wines).

After taking a tour of the vines and hearing more about the varietals, it was time to sit down and taste the production.

In keeping with the dedication to organic products, even the winery itself has been designed using fully sustainable methods and materials.

However, since the weather was so nice, we sat on the terrace outside.

As Giulia took us through a flight, she explained what notes to look for and described the unique characteristics of each bottle.

We were even lucky enough to sample Merumalia’s olive oil.

All of this was paired with local products – to round out a pretty ideal afternoon in the country.

So how can you plan a wine tasting day trip from Rome yourself? The tour and tasting can be booked through Airbnb experiences (where you can read more great reviews). For less than €40? It is a steal too!

 

 

9 thoughts on “Wine Tasting Day Trip from Rome in Frascati, Italy

  1. Dario says:

    It looks like an amazing experience.
    Also, precisely the combination of effective economic activity and protection of territory’s products, environment and food quality that any sensible tourism policy should aim at.
    The Agriturismo formula (even though this wasn’t exactly one), when applied rigorously and genuinely, suits Italy’s tourism potential and assets perfectly, and has actually worked out well.
    I hope it stays this way and expands as the new tourism waves hit the country.

    • Natalie says:

      Ciao Dario! It was a great way to spend an afternoon away from the city – and experience something like an agriturismo as you mention. I completely agree with you that I hope more tourism moves in this direction.

  2. Emma says:

    I love your blog! How did you get out to the vineyard? I am in Rome for 3 days in June with no car but would love to go.

    • Natalie says:

      Hi Emma! I took the train to Frascati from Termini and arranged a pick up from the vineyard. Definitely reach out to them to see if someone can pick you up!

  3. Ed says:

    I visited the Fusco family winery in June. They showed us the science behind wine making. The location has an amazing view of the sunset.

  4. Frances says:

    Love this winery and the people. We have been going there for five years. Can’t wait to go back. We are friends of the family. We will miss Luigi very much. What a beautiful person he was.

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