i must have missed something in my searches but i couldnt find any recommendations for wine shops in rome? i'm looking for brunello di montalcino and vino nobile di montalpuciano (spelling?) in the under $30 euro range. if possible, i'd like to do some tasting before i purchase and dont mind paying a small sum to do some tastings ...

anyone?

You will do better hitting Enotecs in Tuscany. Surprisingly you won't necessarily save $. I did bring home a Felsina Rancia for much less than you could buy it in the states (before the recent repricing anyways).

There's a good chance you're going to find both cheaper at shops in the U.S. than in Rome. Check out wine-searcher.com for price comparisons. We generally limit our wine purchases in Italy to bottles that aren't imported to the U.S., otherwise it's not worth it. There are some wonderful wine shops in Cortona if you do get to Tuscany. If you want wines from Montepulciano, you'll do best going to Montepulciano. Some excellent wines from Tuscany that aren't widely available in the U.S. are the Lamborghini Campoleones, which you can often find at the shops in Cortona even after the winery has sold out.

thanks for the tip on the webpage! unfortunately we wouldnt have time to hit tuscany again (i only had time to stop by greve for a few hours and bought a half dozen of chianti/classico at the wine museum there -- they let u taste before u buy -- and montalpuciano for a late dinner), so roma it is ...

Brunellos happen to be our favorite wines. We have quite a collection in our cellar. 97 was a great year, and the 99s are now on sale. Buy them in the states. Check out Zachys.com for deals. My hubby just bought 15 cases of the 99s from them and some he got some for around $27-$28.

We did bring 3 cases home from Italy 2 years ago, only to find that prices were at least the same if not better here.

wow, that sounds like a good deal ... it seems like brunellos r going for more than 30euros in the roman wineshops i've seen. does that sound abt right to u? ie. brunellos going for >30euros?

Most brunellos go for about $50-$60 in the States. Not quite sure how many Euros that is...don't know current exchange rate. That said, there are often sales where you can get them for less, and really good (i.e. famous) Brunellos can go for $100 or more (I think we paid at least that for the 1997 bottles we got from Biondi Santi when we were in Tuscany). Came home and found them for about the same and we had to carry them on the plane!

Our favorite one is Poggio Antico. We also like Argiano. Frescobaldi can be found for under $40 in the States.

Good luck!

Don't overlook checking the wines sold at some of the large supermarkets in the outskirts of cities in Italy... You'll be suprised at the variety and quality of wines offered for sale outside of the usual everyday table wines. This also is true of the quality olive oils sold.

The Brunello situation is a funny one. Due to good/great vintages in 93,5,,7,8 & 9 and 94 and 96 tasting quite decent(the people in Montalcino do not think these two vintages to be inferior), way too much Brunello was imported into the US. The US wholesalers have dumped tons of the stuff on the market, and depressed the price considerably.

This early stuff was bought with very cheap lira and euros(0.80 to the dollar)

Parker also raved about some vintage (96?), then withdrew his raves, leaving a lot of bad mouthed wines in the hands of distributors.

Most that I saw, even in Montalcino was in the neighborhood of�30, which is not a thrilling price. The euro now trades at close to $1.25. That alone is a 50% increase over 95 and so.

As a sidenote, the only government-run enoteca in Italy is based in Siena at the Fortezza Medicea. Tel. + 39-0577-28.84.97

It is FANTASTIC and has an English-speaking staff. Unfortunately, I recently received an email stating that they are no longer able to ship to the U.S. (maybe has resumed?) but it is WORTH a trip there if you are in Tuscany (and don't miss the Duomo there).