The Essential Guide to Drinking in

The PUNCH Guide to Drinking in Rome

best of rome city guide illustration

Rome is deep into its third millennium of wine consumption, and though statistics show Italians are drinking less wine every year, the city’s wine bars keep getting better and better. A growing number of enotecas outside the historical center stock artisanal wines that celebrate Italy’s native grapes and many catalogs venture across the Alps, featuring French, German and Austrian wines from small, traditional producers. Low markups at wine bars and restaurants keep the national beverage affordable, a major bonus as Italy staggers through a period of economic crisis.

While wine is losing traction, spirits are on the rise and a few notable craft cocktail bars have cropped up in Rome’s nightlife hotspots, like the Centro Storico and Pigneto, providing properly made drinks prepared mainly by foreign-trained Romans. The influence of global drinking trends is also evident in the growth of a craft beer culture and some—though not quite yet all—young drinkers are choosing microbrews over the cheaper and ubiquitous industrial labels like Peroni. So while Romans are certainly drinking less than they did a decade ago, many are finally choosing to drink better. –Katie Parla

Katie Parla's 5 Essential Places to Drink in Rome

Katie Parla is the author of the blog Parla Food, the ebook “Eating & Drinking in Rome” (available for Kindle and in P ...

The Best Craft Beer Bars in Rome

Rome is Italy’s undisputed craft-beer-consumption capital, with dozens of pubs and shops featuring microbreweries from Ita ...

The Best Cocktail Bars in Rome

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The Best Wine Bars in Rome

The city’s most exciting wine bars range from new-born to generations old, but they all share a few things in common: a sl ...

The Best Restaurant Wine Lists in Rome

For a European capital with nearly three millennia of wine production and consumption under its belt, Rome’s wine service ...

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Most Romans shop for their booze at the supermarket, but these shops specialized in traditional wines, craft beers and spi ...