Rome Underground Wine Tasting — A Cave Under Monte Testaccio, a Roman Cistern and a Candlelit Cellar

Monte Testaccio: the hill you are drinking inside

Monte Testaccio is not a natural hill. It is a dump of broken amphorae — almost all olive-oil jars, mostly shipped from Baetica in southern Spain — mostly dumped between about 140 and 250 AD. It rises about 35 metres today, and the most commonly cited estimate is around 53 million jars (some sources go higher). Taste’Accio says its caves were dug in the late 1500s to use the hill’s steady 10–15°C air for storing food, and that is still their job: three of its tastings — the four-wine cave tasting, the cheese-first PDO tasting and the eight-cheese flight — happen there. A fourth, the two-hour Testaccio tasting with a private table in the cave, starts with a drink in Piazza Testaccio and ends at Pasticceria Barberini. The cheese-led formats are compared properly on our Rome wine and cheese tasting page.

Cantina Fabullus: a cistern under Trastevere

Fabullus is a different kind of underground. It sits beneath an 18th-century building near Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere, in a space restored from a 1st-century AD Roman cistern — a water tank, not a burial place — and it is furnished with antiques under a vault of bottles. You meet at the Residenza San Calisto, Via dell’Arco di San Calisto 19/20, under the red canopy, and ring the bell. It pours Italian wines from several regions rather than Lazio, which makes it the better choice if Barolo or Amarone is the point. Every other tasting format in the neighbourhood is on our Trastevere wine tasting guide.

Pigneto: candlelight, with a small sample of reviews

The Pigneto cave is the most atmospheric of the three on paper: a tufa cave east of Termini, outside the historic centre, which the operator describes as a former Roman quarry, an 18th-century cellar and a wartime anti-aircraft shelter. It is lit by candles and serves three wines with a light dinner over 2.5 hours. The honest caveat is the evidence: 7 reviews at the time of writing, against 58 for the Testaccio cave tasting. It is adults only and not suitable for wheelchair users. It also features on our winter wine tasting page, because a candlelit cave is at its best on a cold, dark evening.

What to wear, and who should think twice

Underground rooms stay cool all year, so bring a light layer between June and September, when the street is far warmer than the cave. All three involve steps down. Age rules differ: Testaccio pours soft drinks for minors, Fabullus takes children from 7 on its food tasting and from 16 on the wine-only flight, and Pigneto is 18 and over. First tasting of any kind? Our beginner’s guide explains what happens and how to taste without feeling lost.

What it costs to drink underground

The Testaccio cave tasting is $60 for four wines and a board, the Fabullus cellar tasting $65 for prosecco and two to four wines, and the Pigneto cave $128 with a light dinner included. That puts the caves in the middle of Rome’s range, and the room is what the extra buys — the full price bands are on our Rome wine tasting prices page. If you want the cave to yourselves, read our private wine tasting guide before booking a shared table; if you would rather walk above ground and eat as you go, our evening wine tours page covers the food-and-wine walks.