Wine-Tasting at "Angolo Divino"!

The world of wine is fascinating as much as it is complex. We decided to organize a wine tasting night for our students just to give them the chance to learn how to have this delicious drink in a more conscious way. This event was a great success insomuch as almost half of our students took part in it!

The wine tasting took place at the “Angolo Divino” wine shop, a small but very welcoming place in the heart of Rome, just few walks off Campo de’ Fiori. The shop’s owner, Massimo, was there to wait for us and, as we walked in, we found several tables set and ready for the event. Each person had the chance to taste three red wines produced in different Italian regions.

The tasting was structured in a very interesting way: Massimo explained to us that wine needs to be analyzed using three of our sensory systems: vision, olfaction and taste. Proceeding from this basis, our “guide” let us examine the three wines by observing, inhaling and sampling them. Therefore, we started analyzing the first wine through a visual exam. Massimo told us that this examination is helpful to discover more about the wine’s fundamental features in terms of clearness, color, brilliance and viscosity.

The second step of our tasting was the olfactory exam and this is obviously the most difficult phase of the whole process. Massimo is an expert, of course, and I would say that most of us were baffled when he managed to sniff aromas such as that of vanilla or red fruits while raising the second glass under his nose! At last, we ended the process testing the wine by mouth. Everyone immediately realized that the three wines were ordered in front of us according to their alcoholic strength: as a matter of fact, the first one was the lightest, while the last one was far stronger than the others. At the end of this very interesting lesson, Massimo finally revealed to us the names of the three wines we had tasted; they were, respectively, Morellino di Scansano, Barbera d’Asti and Negramaro.

While Max was illustrating the main features of the bottles he had opened, a waiter brought to each of us a dish full of yummy and colorful food to eat and taste with our wine; we had grilled veggies, cheese, a small omelet, some taralli, which are small crackers similar to pretzels and a breadstick with mortadella.

Our students really liked this experience and we will surely organize it again for those who will study at the Pantheon Institute in the next semesters.