Mac's Birthday Cake Courtesy of Boarding House International
Italian: Buon Cumpleanno
English: Happy Birthday
My roommate Mac turned twenty this past Thursday, and of course, we had to celebrate. We began the celebrations on Wednesday, when we met up with a pair of friends from UCSD for an apertivo, and a night out in Roma. On Thursday, Mac and I partook in a lovely and informative wine tasting, followed by another dinner at Flavio with Kate.
En Route to Testaccio
Testaccio is a region of Rome adjacent to Trastevere. It takes less than ten minutes for us to walk into Testaccio. Testaccio is the same area where we dined at Da Remo, which I discussed in a previous post. On Wednesday, we ventured over to Rec 23, a modern Italian restaurant that offered a well priced apertivo.
Rec 23 Apertivo Set-Up; Moscow Mule; Moscow Mule and my plate of delights; Zakk, Mac and Zach
Simply, how an apertivo works, is restaurants and bars/cafes, offer specials, usually between 7 p.m.- 9 p.m. where all you have to do is pay for at least one drink, and receive a complementary buffet of small dishes. It is very rare in Italy to simply order a drink without receiving some sort of food to eat along with it. Italians do not drink for the sake of drinking, but rather they always drink with their food.
I tried taking a photo of the setup of the inside, but the lighting was quite poor. As photographed above, Rec 23 set up a table next to their bar with an assortment of plates of finger food. The drink I decided to try this evening is called a Moscow Mule, essentially a ginger-citrus concoction. At the buffet, I helped myself to a few miniature quiches, bread with spreads, rice, salad, and of course some cheese. We made a meal out of their buffet, and went back a couple rounds. Considering that you only have to pay for your drinks, we concluded that we'll be partaking in apertivi many more times to come.
We were lucky to be joined by Zakk and Zach, two of our friends from UCSD. Zach (on the right), is one of the Senior College Ambassadors (Head Tour Guides), who trained Mac, and has avised me through my tour guide experience. These two are about half-way through their five week adventure throughout Europe! They were a fun pair, and since Zach previously studied abroad in Italy, he directed us to having a fun rest of the evening.
Vino Roma; Bottle Display; Tasting Table; Map of Italy's Wines; Mac and Birthday Prosecco
On Thursday, Mac's real birthday, we partook in an exclusive wine tasting at Vino Roma. Vino Roma is located in one of Rome's oldest regions, called Monti. The studio is about ten minutes away from the Colosseum. It's a small studio, simply made up of a large white room, and spotlight over the massive tasting table. On the table you can see there are two wine glasses, one for white, and the other for red. They also served water and bread, as to not "disturb our palate."
We tasted six wines, three white and three red. The name of the winery and white wines were: La Tunella Sauvignon 2011, Tenuta Le Quinte Virtu Romane 2010 and Planeta Chardonnay 2008. The reds were: Brovia Ciabot del Re 2006, Pasetti Testarossa 2007, and Planeta Plumbago 2010.
We drank them in the exact order listed. Our Sommelier, Maurizio, was very knowledgable and taught me a lot about wine that I had never known before. He showed us how to look at color variation to show aging and contact with Oxygen, the legs for alcohol content, use the smell of the wine as an indicator of where it was produced, and how to properly taste it (two tastes, the first to get your palette started, and the second to "chew," or simply slurp your whine to truly get the flavor). We went through each wine slowly, and discussed amongst the group what sensations we were experiencing, and in particular what kinds of food we would drink them with.
Mac and I in the Cellar; The Wine we Drank; Mac and Maurizio
Overall, I was extremely pleased with the experience, as was Mac. Other than the school wine excursion, I've never participated in a proper wine tasting. I enjoyed learning about the process of how grapes are grown and cultivated, and in particular, the environment in which the grapes grow, which is executed in the wine's taste. For example, the last red wine we tasted, Plumbago 2010, is from Siciliy and is grown in an area near the ocean, and the vineyard is surrounded by flowers. After Maurizio told us these facts, I immediately realized that I could not only smell the salty sea air, but also taste a hint of floral undertones.
Also, the prices for these wines were all fairly reasonable. They ranged from 9 Euros- 20 Euros. I am happy we did this wine tasting, while it is still early in my trip. I'll definitely take the tips and facts I learned to try and purchase good wines during dinner and when I go grocery shopping.
Overall, I believe Mac enjoyed her birthday. Although not pictured, we went to Flavio (along with Kate who unfortunately had class during the tasting), the same restaurant she and her mom took me. We concluded our night by eating the cake given to Mac by the program that runs our housing here in Trastevere! I wish Mac a very happy birthday, and I am so grateful to have spent it with her abroad in Rome.
Look forward to my next post, which will detail my second excursion to a cheese farm!
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