If all you do is taste the wines, you’ll be pretty happy you came to meet Linda Siddera of Casale del Giglio from noon-4pm on Saturday, September 19. The blend of classic Rome-area wines like Bellone (white, delicious!) and Cesenese (red and also delicious!) plus unexpected treats like Petit Mensang and Petit Verdot are going to delight. Just drop by anytime from noon-4pm for a free tasting with an Italian wine expert you’ll be talking about for a long while.

But if you listen to the Casale del Giglio story Linda will be sharing with the wines, you’ll be more delighted still. Because it’s an amazing story of wine discovery.

The Santarelli family had been in the Roman wine trade for 50 years in 1967 when then young Dino decided to try to grow grapes on the family vacation farm 30 miles south of Rome. Thirty years later, his son, Antonio realized that no one really knew what grapes were best for Lazio - for centuries, wineries just grew whatever worked to provide inexpensive gulping wine for tourists in Rome.

So partnering with oenologist and Alto Adige native Paolo Ttiefenthaler and several university researchers, Antonio decided on an experiment. He planted 60+ grape varieties in the Agro Pontino valley. Polo turned them into wine. And then they tasted. And tasted. And tasted some more.

Which is how we know many white grapes make good wine in Lazio, but its own native Bellone may just be best. And that while Lazio's Cesanese is certainly yummy, Bordeaux's Petit Verdot can be flat out stellar! Linda will share all the details as she pours:

• Casale del Giglio Bellone Lazio 2025
• Casale del Giglio Bellone Lazio Anthium 2024
• Casale del Giglio Petit Manseng Lazio 2024
• Casale del Giglio Cesanese Lazio 2024
• Casale del Giglio Petit Verdot 2024
• Casale del Giglio Lazio Aphrodisium 2023

In these wildly changing climate and economic times, many wine regions around the world are going to be thinking about how to reinvent themselves and discover the best version of themselves for new days. The Santarelli family’s work at Casale del Giglio provides an exciting template for how to do that work. And a delicious set of wines to enjoy just because they taste good, too!