No, we were not exactly “four friends at the bar”, but four friends, one partner, and an “extra” friend who joined us—well organized with what my friends Maurizio, Daniele, and Paolo from vinodabere.it now call the “first aid kit.” In reality, it’s a thermal bag used to transport and keep at the right temperature what this group of friends considers the bare minimum necessary to properly support a lunch like the one organized by Walter Regolanti at Romolo al Porto, in Anzio.
With them, any excuse is a good one to sit around a table—not only to eat, but also to share those little treasures they manage to pull out each time from the remarkable wine collections in their cellars.
Anzio, we said. Recently reopened. Romolo al Porto the location.
A place dear to me, because it’s here that I spent my last years playing water polo.
The table is ready and a large ice-filled bowl announces the usual crowd of glasses and the usual oenological marathon. It also reminds us of the inevitable frustration of realizing that not everything poured into the glass will—or should—be swallowed. But by now we’re used to that.
The “vinodabere boys” already have corkscrews in hand and look like children waiting to open their Christmas presents. Fabiana, my partner in a new editorial project, arrives shortly afterward and—much to my surprise (well… maybe not that much)—is not intimidated by the whirlwind of bottles that begins to dominate our table. Even the astonished looks from nearby diners have become a familiar sight.
Should we wait for the food before opening the wines?
Not a chance.
We start uncorking.
An ancestral method sparkling wine, La Palazzola 2013 Blanc de Blancs, disgorged in 2015. Very good—perhaps not explosive on the palate, but with a beautiful entry and just enough residual sugar to make you keep drinking.
Then comes a Champagne, Nicolas Maillard 2008 Blanc de Noirs. It’s Champagne through and through: bread crust on the nose and that unmistakable bitter almond finish. A wonderful way to start.
But that’s enough bubbles for now. The excitement takes over and we move on.
Exultet 2018 from Quintodecimo—elegant but perhaps slightly lacking in structure. Later that evening, back in Rome, we would try the 2017, finding the structure we were looking for and confirming it as a great wine.
And just to be clear: we still haven’t touched the food.
So, while waiting, we open a second sequence:
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Vermentino di Sardegna Mattariga 2019 – Chessa (unlabeled… a sort of bootleg, musically speaking)
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Coda di Volpe Di Prisco 2016
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Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2016 – Sant’Ansovino
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Vermentino Ruinas 2019 – Depperu
The Mattariga Vermentino opens this round in a very interesting way.
The Coda di Volpe surprises with an intriguing nose and a pleasantly structured palate.
The Verdicchio is outstanding—I’m clearly developing a strong appreciation for this grape.
But the Ruinas Vermentino truly steals the show—my wine of the day—with freshness, precision, and that irresistible urge to refill the glass again and again.
Then, finally, the food arrives.
Walter floods the table with a series of preparations that make me extremely happy. I enjoy eating, but I enjoy “grazing” through many small bites even more. A stunning selection of raw seafood, including fish that are not always easy to find on a plate, such as fragolino and tracina. Colors and flavors dominate each course, ranging from pure, respectful expressions of raw ingredients to bold and surprising combinations, alternating soft textures with crunchy elements—like the tartares served on what I believe was pane guttiau.
Meanwhile, we open a second Champagne—just enough time to bring it to the right temperature: Savage from Famille Delouvin, a 100% pas dosé that cuts through the palate like a sword.
And since we didn’t want to miss anything, we also open “Sorriso di Cielo” Colli Piacentini DOC Malvasia from La Tosa—a grape variety my companions recognized, though the region of origin surprised everyone.
The food continues.
Now come the traditional dishes:
maltagliati with scrambled egg and tomato, perfectly spicy, followed by fish soups, one with legumes and one in the classic version—bringing the marathon to a fitting conclusion.
Among the wines there was also a stray intruder:
a Barolo 2012 from Guido Porro. Pleasant, with beautiful acidity, though it struggled—just this once—to compete with such a sequence of bubbles and whites.
We finish with a dessert round:
tart, white chocolate quenelle, airy tiramisu, gianduia semifreddo, and chocolate mousse.
And what do you do at that point—not pair them with a whisky?
So out comes a Samaroli 2003 Sherry Blended.
Coffee? We had that elsewhere.
We needed to take a walk and recover from this gastronomic session.
It had been a while since I let myself be pampered by Walter Regolanti at Romolo al Porto. I close this article with an applause.
I had fun moving between colors, flavors, and unusual pairings, and I also loved being brought back to tradition with the fish soups and maltagliati.
A weekday lunch.
Great wines, great food—but above all great company.
What more could you ask for?
