There were great responses from many of you to my request for information about Italian wines. I'm hoping you'll do the same for wine bars. <BR> <BR>What are these wine bars/enotecas? I see many descriptions of not only the wine they serve, but also the cichetti (sp?) they serve. Does one go to these instead of lunch? Instead of dinner? Happy hour? Does one typically go for the wine or for the food? Do you order the wine by the glass or bottle? Are they like tapas bars in Spain? <BR> <BR>Any recommendations for favorite enotecas in the cities we'll be visiting: Rome, Siena, Florence, Venice and Milan? <BR> <BR>Thanks for your help!

Hi Judy, we went to one when we were in Rome a few months ago, and I'd highly recommend it. It's called the Enoteca Antica and it's on the Villa della Croce (near the Spanish Steps). It has a very good wine selection, by either the bottle or glass. As I recall, our glasses of Shiraz were about 8,000 lira (about $4.00) each. I don't know if they serve meals or not -- because we just had an antipasta plate both times we were there -- but there are table in the back. We just sat at the counter in front and ordered a small antipasta plate for 10,000 lira. Not an extensive selection, but what they had was absolutely delicious! Nice cozy atmosphere inside, too, with beamed ceilings.

Okay, since this is course "101", let's start with the orthography: <BR> <BR>WINERY ==&gt; WINERIES not ==&gt; WINERYS <BR> <BR>likewise <BR> <BR>ENOTECA ==&gt; ENOTECHE not ==&gt; ENOTECAS <BR> <BR>though I don't mean to imply that enoteca is a synonym for winery. And for what it's worth, I'm sure I have made this spelling mistake before also - - probably here on this forum, too! <BR> <BR>The best ones I have visted (and sadly, I have failed to make note of the name of many of them) are not "bars" as we might ordinarily think of such, nor places where people go "to eat" - - though they DO sell wine by the glass, sometimes have (a few) tables - - and a variety of appropriate things to eat with wine, including panini (sandwiches) or actual piatti (courses). Some might be part formaggeria or salumeria, but most are first and foremost wine SHOPs. <BR> <BR>I guess you can go anytime in the afternoon or evening (doesn't seem like a "morning" kind of activity to me) - - whenever they are open. For what it's worth, I have sometimes gone at what we might call "happy hour" - - and from there, went on to a restaurant carrying a half-dozen bottles in a shopping bag. And while I might not try this in a "fancy" restaurant, I have also asked the waiter if we could have one of my purchased bottles with our meal, and I have NOT gotten funny looks (probably some nominal fee for "corkage and the glasses was added to the bill - - don't remember, and I would have expected it). <BR> <BR>Proprietors seem to think it entirely normal that you come to spend an hour or more there to talk about wine, taste wines, and of course buy wines. They often have a dozen or two bottles already open to sell you a glass, or offer you just a taste. And they will always open and pour for you what you buy - - especially after you sample your way through some they already have open and point them in the direction of "more like this..." or "like this, but not so... whatever..." <BR> <BR>One of the few I can name for sure is Buccone on via di Ripetta (near Pzza del Popolo). I also vividly remember Alpinum in Salzburg (yes, I know - - NOT in Italy) - - and regrettably, I have forgotten the names of places I have visted in Venice, Verona and Tremezzo. <BR> <BR>A search on Yahoo for enoteche will produce 1000's of hits, and tons of lists in various towns; many of these sites will be in Italian only, but usually a picture or two, the name address, telephone number - - what more do you need? and www.vinit.net has a listing for every province in Italy. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex <BR>

unabashedly topping - - no other interest? no other fellow oenophiles? or just other pedants? <BR>

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Drinking shiraz at an enoteca in Rome is sort of like drinking Miller in Munich.

But we were drinking it while wearing all-black ensembles! :~) <BR> <BR>

You rock Capo

the plural of enoteca is enotece. It's prounounced as Rex has written but not spelled with an h.

Sorry teacher, but the only thing worse than a pedant is a wrong pedant. The plural of 'enoteca' is 'enoteche' indeed, as is the norm for the plural of feminine nouns and adjectives ending in 'ca', like 'discoteche', 'biblioteche' and so on. <BR> <BR>Marco

Grazie, Sally. Sticks & stones may break my bones...but wine snobs will never faze me. :~)

Interesting that teacher says my pronunciation was right but my spelling was wrong. My spelling is indeed right, and I didn't actually comment on the pronunciation of enoteche. The shots traded over the pronunciation of Cinque Terre made me reluctant to get into the pronunciation of "e" in Italian, but it's worth taking up again for this word. <BR> <BR>All three "e"s in enoteche are pronounced the same - - it's not exactly "eh" - - as in bet, nor "ai" as bait - - but somewhere in between. <BR> <BR>So, not exactly <BR> <BR>ehn-no-teck-keh <BR> <BR>and not exactly <BR> <BR>ain-no-take-kay, <BR> <BR>but some blend of the two. <BR>