kwren

LOL Mathieu! I get your point.

kwren

Ekscrunchy - that was exactly what I was wondering so thank you. Maybe that was what he was trying to say so I'll give him benefit of the doubt. Traveling is so interesting with all the cultural differences. That's all I was trying to figure out.

kybourbon

>>>In Italy it is a common practice to bring the bottle and to charge patrons for the amount consumed<<<

I ate at a Macaroni Grill in Florida back in the 90's. They brought a jug of wine to the table and charged by how much you drank. I think either liquor laws or health laws put an end to their jug on the table.

lincasanova

I agree that had you only drunk approximately half a liter that is what y would have been charged.

ekscrunchy

KWren: I imagine that that is exactly what the waiter was trying to tell you.

When you order a half bottle, sometimes you will receive a little pitcher containing that amount, and sometimes, as in your case, the entire bottle, sometimes with a label and sometimes not. When you receive the bottle, you pay for the wine that you drink..



Well, now that we have settled the wine question, all that remains is for you to continue enjoying your trip!

A_Brit_In_Ischia

You're in Rome, and have nothing better to do with your time there than write six posts (thus far!) about the extra 4 Euro-worth of wine you drank, and then had to pay for?

What a dreadful waste...

Peter

ekscrunchy

Skirting the issue that Peter raised, I will comment only that if you like Rosso di Montepulciano, it is widely available in the US (I am assuming you are American) for about $10-$15 per bottle.

The rosso from Avignonesi, one of the more esteemed producers, can be found for under $15 per bottle in the US. Other producers will offer less expensive versions.

kwren

A_Brit...

Wow 6 whole posts!!! Oops make that 7.

Oh Peter, it's more of a waste that you would actually bother to count the number of posts I wrote and to bother to say that to me. I believe that it is permissible to have some down time, or to write a post before the rest of the family wakes up. And before you whine about me writing now, I also believe that it's ok for me to be in now at 9 pm since we are getting up at 5 to go to Pompeii for the entire day and were up early today for a Scavi tour. If it makes you feel better, we've been walking around 10 miles a day and...oh forget it, you're just going to put me down no matter what I say and if the wine didn't bother me, you're not going to either. Everyone on Fodors recommends some relaxation on vacation, except you apparently.

Geesh!

And thank you ekscrunchy, it's nice to know that not all people here are nasty, especially when someone is on vacation. I'll look into the wine when we get home. I had never had it before

kybourbon

Yes and everyone should understand we all have our little internet addictions or we wouldn't be on Fodor's every day. It's a great way to unwind from the day.

I just heard from the Vatican that my Scavi ressie was accepted. Last year I was rejected.

I hope it's not too hot at Pompeii.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

It's your vacation, and your €4, to use as you like...

It was sure hot down here yesterday, and today looks like being the same:

http://meteo.corriere.it/meteo/citta...i/pompei.shtml

Peter

tarquin

Kwren, do try Buccone on Via di Ripetta if you get a chance, since my opportunity to do so is over!

kwren

Well we are home now after a wonderful 17 days!

Tarquin - I wish I had the time to go the wine bar you recommended. I got your message too late as we had just been to the Piazza di Popolo and couldn't get back. Thanks for the recommendation, which I will keep for a future trip. It really sounded good.

Ky - I'm so glad you got your reservation for the Scavi tour. You are absolutely going to love it. If you are there on a hot day, take water...the first part of the tour is pretty hot and stuffy. And to answer your question, yes Pompeii was very hot, but we did pretty well, getting what I thought would be our longest walk over with first as we walked to the Villa of Mysteries as recommended by the person selling the audio guides. We even got a private tour of another villa out that way which was locked up. This cute little Italian man unlocked the gate, let us in, locked up again, and gave a very detailed tour...all in Italian! We could make out a lot of what he said and love unexpected things like this. He looked honestly shocked when we gave him a few Euros at the end. We did a lot of walking between there and the entrance, had lunch, but then my kids wanted to trek over to the amphitheater, which was an even longer - much longer - walk. This was my third trip to Pompeii and I had never been to that end so off we went.

NYCFoodSnob

<i>"You're in Rome, and have nothing better to do with your time there than write six posts (thus far!) about the extra 4 Euro-worth of wine you drank, and then had to pay for? What a dreadful waste..."</i>

I thought the same thing. I never understand why anyone visiting Italy would waste one second of her/his time putting her/his face in front of a computer unnecessarily.

<i>"everyone should understand we all have our little internet addictions"</i>

I have difficulty tolerating addict personalities. Maybe that's why I can't spend a lot of time on any board. I'm not addicted to anything, thank god. But I am fully aware that many people have addiction issues.

<i>"If you order a 1/2 bottle, you should insist on a half bottle."</i>

If you don't understand Italian, you should be very careful not to "insist" on anything. You could fall prey to making an extreme fool of yourself.

<i>"If you accept the full bottle, you pay for the full bottle."</i>

I am absolutely stunned by the number of seasoned travelers here who don't know what they are talking about.

It is common practice in Italy to be charged for the amount of wine you consume, particularly, if you order a 1/2 liter and the waiter brings a full bottle to your table. This means, feel free to pour yourself a 1/2 liter and, also, feel free to pour more if you desire more. You see this wine hospitality more in <i>enoteche</i> (wine bars) than in restaurants but many wine bars offer food so, sometimes, it's difficult to tell the difference.

Many restaurants in Italy adopt an "enoteche" philosophy. Their "house" wines are not "no name" and owners who love serving their favorites will often have 4-or-more favorite varietals available to try. If the customer is only interested in a glass or two, that's all the customer will take and that amount will appear on the bill.

A little research on drinking wine in Italy would have supplied the OP with the knowledge she needed and prevented her from posting this "did I get ripped-off in Italy post," which IMO, is in poor taste.

kwren

Wow! Tough crowd! But at least my time in front of the computer wasn't all unnecessary as NYC mentions so thanks for defending me. I already apologized for the poor wording of my title. It was not well thought out and deserved the controversy.

However, I'm not sure I understand the animosity about me being on the computer during my down time. If I mentioned that I had read a novel, would that have suited you better? I did laundry - am I at fault for not bringing enough clothes causing me to waste valuable time in Rome? I bought souvenirs - am I addicted to shopping? I sat in a cafe for over an hour and talking to my husband. Should I have been rushing to meet a tour guide instead? Who decides what someone on vacation should or should not do? I love Fodors and learn a lot from it, even on vacation. I turned to it for information, and I even posted some tips that I had learned and wanted to pass along before I forgot. Did I rush back from sightseeing to turn on my iPad? No. Did I delay any departures to feed a computer addiction? Certainly not. Did I turn it on to get the weather for each segment of our trip? Yup, why not? Did I ask a question about wine consumption trying to figure out a cultural difference? Unfortunately yes. Was it worded poorly? Absolutely! Did NYC beautifully explain the Italian enoteca philsophy of drinking and charging for a partial bottle of wine? Yes, and I thank him! Would I have learned this without posting? No. Did it even occur to me to ask before my trip without having had this experience? No, how could it? I never heard of something like this before. Is it humanly possible for any OP to research every possible question before a trip? NYC, I bet you can answer that one yourself by now. And lastly, for Peter, was this about 4E? Nope.

I just don't see the problem of posting while on vacation, and just maybe NYC and Peter you can understand a little better now and be a little kinder and understanding in the future.

Maybe NYC and Peter have an addiction to blasting people on Fodors. Just sayin'...

A_Brit_In_Ischia

It's your vacation, and your €4, to use as you like...

... and in future I'll look for better things to do than respond to ill-conceived threads such as this one.

How's that?

Peter

gh21

Even though some folks have no addictions and can't tolerate addictive personalities, they seem to be addicted to criticizing others all over this forum.

NYCFoodSnob

<i>"Did NYC beautifully explain the Italian enoteca philsophy of drinking and charging for a partial bottle of wine? Yes, and I thank him!"</i>
That's funny. And you're welcome.

<i>"Did it even occur to me to ask (about wine consumption) before my trip without having had this experience? No, how could it?</i>

How could it not occur to you? Maybe you have to be a food and wine lover to be naturally interested. Who would ever go to Italy without reading Faith Willinger's, "Eating In Italy?" Oh, I forget, nobody reads anymore.

<i>"Is it humanly possible for any OP to research every possible question before a trip?"</i>

Every possible question? No. But since food and wine are pretty important aspects of Italian culture, one would think that a little research might provide a more enjoyable experience. But I understand a lot of travelers simply like to wing it.

<i>"Maybe NYC and Peter have an addiction to blasting people on Fodors."</i>

Nothing personal, sweetie. But I can only speak for myself. I don't know you and to me, you're just another anonymous username on the worldwide web. My thoughts are my thoughts and they won't hurt you unless you let them. I suggest you not let that happen.

kwren

no harm done NYC - as I said I DID learn something here and I say that in all sincerity. I read a bit about Tuscan wines before the trip and was glad to have done so, but honestly, I haven't ever heard of leaving part of a bottle of wine...and only paying for what I drank. I can't imagine that in the US they could even use that wine for other people, but could definitely be wrong on that. (sort of like having to throw out uneaten bread or butter)

Peter - great idea!

NYCFoodSnob

<i>"I haven't ever heard of leaving part of a bottle of wine...and only paying for what I drank."</i>

Well now you know.

Many, many moons ago, too many years to count on one's fingers (and who wants to look that far back), I found myself at my first Italian wine bar in Venice, Italy, called Vino Vino. http://www.anticomartini.com/en/rest...enice/vinovino

I didn't speak much Italian then but I knew more than my first husband so I ordered a glass of red for each of us. Our waiter uncorked a bottle and its luscious bouquet hit my nose. He left it on the table with two glasses. After a pause, I looked at my husband and said, "I don't think he's coming back. Let's pour it ourselves."

My husband, being the insecure control-freak that he was said, "No! We can't serve ourselves in a restaurant." So we waited, and waited, and waited. We also didn't realize that if we wanted to eat <i>cicchetti</i>, we had to get up and go to the counter and point. You live and learn, and there's always a first time.

<i>"I can't imagine that in the US they could even use that wine for other people"</i>

In Italy, you're not likely to find people who take swigs from the bottle, dear.

The culture of wine in Italy is quite different from America. There are many things the Italians do that Americans would never consider. And vice-versa.

pdx

What happens to the other half of the bottle of wine? Do they sell it to the people who've asked for a half-bottle?