IN VINO VERITAS

Rome's restaurants may be legendary, but sometimes what you need is a great wine bar. Ray Isle takes a tour of the city's finest enoteche, from the old-school to the cutting-edge.

- Ray Isle

A GOOD WINE BAR CAN PROVIDE THE ANSWERS TO MANY VITAL QUESTIONS.

For instance, after my wife, Cecily, and I dropped off our daughter, Marie, at her dorm in Rome in the summer of 2022, because she had decided that going to college in the Eternal City seemed more appealing than doing the same in Newark, Delaware-go figure we wandered aimlessly in the August heat for a span of time, then found ourselves sitting, somewhat emotionally unmoored, at a tiny wine bar near the Piazza Navona. Having your only child leave home is a weird experience. "What do we do now?" my wife asked me. The question pertained pretty much to our entire lives, but all I could think of to say was, "Have a glass of wine, I guess?"

Enoteca Il Piccolo (small plates $5-$16), happened upon in that odd moment, has become one of my favorite Roman wine bars. I've since discovered that it's a favorite of many friends in the wine business as well, both for its selection of primarily (but not solely) natural wines from small producers and for its unreconstructed, untouristy, deeply Roman vibe.

The inside is tiny, dark, and cozy; outdoors there are mismatched tables where, if the temperature is not nine million degrees as it was when we went back this past summer, you can sit amid a mix of guests, half of whom seem to have come out of a 1950s black-and-white Italian film and half of whom are decidedly younger. Have some bruschetta, some mortadella, some olives. Pick a glass from the shortlist, or a bottle from the wall inside (the inventory is wide-ranging, both Italian and international). Figure out your life.