Wine Tasting in Rome – The Rimessa Roscioli Food and Wine Tasting Dinner

In July, we had the incredible opportunity to house-sit in Rome, Italy, for just over a month—an experience we had dreamed of for years. Rome is not only a city rich in history but also home to some of the world’s most iconic landmarks. Of course, we couldn’t miss visiting the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. However, what truly captivated us about Rome was its vibrant food and wine scene.

As dedicated food and wine enthusiasts, we found ourselves in paradise! Living in Italy meant immersing ourselves in the local culinary culture, so we love house-sitting. It offers us the chance to explore and savor the unique flavors and traditions of different regions around the globe. I like to refer to this approach as “slow food and wine travel,” although I’m not sure if that’s an established term!

During our time in Rome, we treated ourselves to an unforgettable food and wine-tasting evening at Rimessa Roscioli. If you haven’t heard of the Roscioli empire yet, you’re in for a real treat! Their commitment to quality and authenticity in Italian cuisine is unmatched, making it a must-visit for anyone looking to indulge in the best that Rome has to offer.

Rimessa Roscioli – A Background

I will start with an overview of the Roscioli name. You can’t visit Rome without being lured into at least one of their establishments. 

The Roscioli family has deep ties to Rome. The family’s first recorded appearance in the city was in the 1800s, when they set up their first bakery. Since then, the family has expanded and currently has four locations in Rome, each offering a unique experience for both locals and tourists alike.

• Salumeria Roscioli – Restaurant and Deli 
• Anticoforno Roscioli – The world-famous bakery 
• Roscioli Caffe – Cafe and Patisserie 
• Rimessa Roscioli – Wine Bar and Tastings

Each of their locations is very close to central Rome and is within walking distance of each other.

We were heading to Rimessa for our wine tasting in Rome experience on this occasion. We were excited about our visit as we first saw this place on one of our favorite travelers/ chiefs (Anthony Bourdain’s) show.
At Rimessa Roscioli, you have several different options for wine and food experiences: 

1. Wine and food-tasting dinner
2. Taste the legends
3. Olive oil tasting
4. Lazio wine tour

We went for the ‘wine and food tasting dinner’. At 59 Euros each, we thought this was a great deal. For the wine and food-tasting dinner, you have two options: 5 or 8 p.m. 

We booked into the later session so that afterward, we could go for a stroll and see what Rome at night is all about.

First Impressions of Rimessa Roscioli

Before heading into Rimessa Roscioli we had been into Anticoforno for a few slices of Roman pizza. The pizza there was incredible, so we were very excited for dinner, considering the menu had some of our favorite food items on it.

The wine menu is stacked full of hundreds of wines. Most are natural, organic, or biodynamic-friendly wines that have been hand-picked (and the winery most likely visited by the man himself!). This was what really sealed the deal about Rimessa Roscioli for us. We love supporting the little guys who have a passion for the product!

You can buy by the taste, by the glass, or by the bottle. We learned that Italy has over 1000 grape varieties that produce a staggering amount of wines. We could spend some serious time here getting to know each different variety. 

The atmosphere in Rimessa is awesome. The place was buzzing with music and guests. The walls feature many different wines and really cool artwork by Daniela Pareschi, one of which is the wine bar’s mascot, ‘Drunk Spiderman’. 

Our Food and Wine Tasting Experience

When we arrived at Rimessa Roscioli around 7:50, the place was pumping! We were asked to wait outside until our tasting started.

We couldn’t help but get food and wine envy over the couple seated outside as we waited outside. They had a beautiful-looking cheese platter and glasses of wine. Being a professional food lurker Britt was quick to guess what cheese they were eating.

Just at 8, we were welcomed in and taken through the restaurant and downstairs to the wine cellar. On the way, we passed through cheese fridges, hanging meats, and walls of wine. It was kind of like the walkway I see in my dreams.

We got to the end and were welcomed by a beautifully set table in the middle of the cellar. What better place to learn about wine than by being surrounded by it?!

Once seated, we were quickly given our first wine of the evening, Prosecco. While sipping back on our Prosecco Col Fondo Credamora our guide for the evening Lindsay introduced herself.

Lindsay gave us a quick background on herself and explained how she ended up in Rome taking these food and wine tours. It was awesome to hear her true love for Italian food and wine. What’s better, the entire tour was in English.



From the get-go, you could see Lindsay was passionate about what she did. We had a lot of questions about the different wines, particularly about the organic/natural wine-making process, which she was happy to teach us.

The evening’s menu consisted of 8 courses, each paired with wine. Rimessa loves finding the perfect bite to complement each wine selected for the tasting. A lot of thought went into the pairings, and Lindsay was a fantastic guide who explained why each wine went with each different food. 



Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed each wine and food pairing and learned a lot about Italian food and wine. 

Throughout the evening, there were a couple of standouts we each had;

Jays Wine Picks: Being a huge red wine fan two wines really stood out for me.

• 2016 Rosso di Contrada: I love Sicilian red wine so I was excited for this wine, and I was not let down. It was a highlight of my night! 
• Barbaresco Riserva 2013: I could drink this wine all day. The tannins were low, and there was a great hit of berries. Bellissimo!

Britts Wine Picks

• Barbaresco Riserva 2013: Incredible! Very aromatic, bursting with red cherry and spices. It had a big mouthfeel, with very smooth tannins.
• Pink Frued 2017 Canlibero: As someone who would never ever drink Rose, this blew me out of the water. 

Wow, we actually kind of sound like we know what we are talking about?!

Jays Food Picks:

It was actually really hard to pick a top 2 from the food list. Coming to Rome there was a dish that I really wanted to try which were on the menu.

• Cacio e Pepe: It is a dish that originated here in Rome and only has 4 ingredients. Pasta, black pepper, Pecorino Romano cheese and butter. Not having many ingredients means this dish has to be done right to me good – and Rimessa was on point! Lindsay advised us that Rimessa Roscioli is famous for Cacio e Pepe and I can see why, it really was delicious. One of the highlights of my whole month house sitting in Rome.
• The Homemade Tiramisu was one of the best ways to end an Italian food and wine tasting. Paired with a deliciously sweet 2018 Moscato d’Asti, it had me floating out of there on cloud 9. 

Britts Food Picks:

• Being a cheese enthusiast, I was in my element! I looooved the Ashed Robiola Goat Cheese. It was zesty yet creamy and was the perfect texture with a gooey outer layer.
• Smoked Mackerel: We only had a taster of this, but I could have demolished it as a main! It was perfectly smoked and fell apart at the touch of my fork!

The Rimessa Roscioli Wine Club

While tasting, we learned that Rimessa Roscioli has just started a wine club. However, this isn’t the average subscription service that gives you a membership card to boast to your friends about.

The Rimessa Roscioli Wine Club has been created to close the gap between wine producers and consumers. Often, the wine industry can be scary and intimidating. Rimessa is trying to change that. The wine club has four different tiers each offering a different class of wine ranging from 159 € to 1500 € per delivery, depending on your selected tier.

Each works like this: Wherever you are in the world, you will receive four shipments of six bottles of wine per year (with free shipping!). Each of your selected wines comes from a small Italian producer. These producers are mainly natural, organic, or biodynamic friendly. This means that your wine has been made with love and with no nasty chemicals or threats to the environment, which is something we really liked about Rimessa Roscioli.

Don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what you like; the guys at Rimessa can help you find your perfect wine. They can do this by pairing wines with your specific taste profiles, other wines you like, or what you like to cook (because, as you will learn, Italian wine is all about the food you eat it with!)
I love the idea of this. Knowing the story behind what I am eating or drinking makes me appreciate it and understand it more. It is also really good to see the amount of love that goes into this style of wine.

Our Overall Thoughts

First, Lindsay advised us that because all of the wines were all-natural and organic, it was highly unlikely that we would feel hungover after our wine tasting experience. From our experience, we can also vouch for this. The next morning, we were out walking the dog bright and early!

This wine tasting is for everyone! Rimessa Roscioli focuses on making wine tasting fun for everyone, from total beginners to experienced full-on wine-os.

Overall we had an amazing experience wine tasting in Rome at Rimessa Roscioli. We left with full bellies and a head full of knowledge about Italian wine, food and had a new take on wine tasting.

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