Many things have changed since Trieste for wine lovers was published in 2019. The small town of Trieste, in the north-eastern corner of Italy (much closer to Vienna than to Rome) shows its beauty and unique atmosphere untouched by the tourists that loyally come back every year, but its food and wine offer saw more than one mutation over the last half-decade. Here is the updated description of places you’ll be happy to buy you some wine when in Trieste.
For your aperitivo
Harry’s Bar in Piazza Unità d’Italia remains a place to go at least once, although it’s always recommended to pay attention to the town’s event calendar, to avoid enjoying a view on an empty parterre, a stage being dismantled and a heap of metal barriers. Emanuele, the head sommelier, will be happy to suggest a classy glass or some hidden jewel from his cellar.
Caffè Tommaseo, on the other hand, changed its ownership and the wine choice is not as distinguished as it used to be. The place still deserves a visit, and a nice glass can surely be found, but definitely wine isn’t its core business any more.
Enoteca di Vino in Vino, unfortunately, closed, while Gran Malabar and Bar X are still working with the same style and quality level.
Among newer names, Al Barcollo will be a pleasant surprise. Located in Via San Nicolò, more or less halfway between Piazza Unità d’Italia and the Canal Grande (yes, Trieste also has a Canal Grande, but please don’t laugh at it once you see how small it is), it looks like a simple bar, like many others in the neighbourhood. Indeed, they serve hectolitres of Aperol spritz daily and you’ll barely see a glass of wine in the hands of its customers, but they have a small-yet-interesting wine selection, including some high-quality, affordable wines from Carso, Collio, Vipavska Dolina and even Štajerska and Sancerre.
Marco, the young and dynamic proprietor, also owns two other small bars in as many strategic places in town. The tiny Al Tram in Piazza Oberdan is focused on local producers of slightly lower quality and price (although some decent Cava and Franciacorta can also be found), with the notable exception of Skerk. Barcollo Cavana is located in the eponymous quarter (Via Boccardi 1/B) and offers the largest and finest wine selection of the three, with an interesting choice of bottles both from the area and from abroad, including Alto Adige, Burgundy, Pfalz and even François Secondé’s champagne. Al Barcollo, Al Tram and Barcollo Cavana all serve delicious open sandwiches made with high-quality local products, but the last one has the finest food offer, too, thanks to the partnership with a respected local young chef, Marko Durdevic from restaurant Al Petes.
Natural-wine enthusiasts will find their place of the heart close to the church of Sant’Antonio Nuovo, at the end of the Canal Grande. La Bottiglia Volante (Via Nicolò Paganini 2/C) is a wine bar serving only low-intervention wines from all over Italy and abroad, with a distinguished selection of champagne. If you love the philosophy but you’re not fully accustomed to the unconventional flavours these wines may show, ask for Luca’s advice with confidence: he has a deep knowledge of the labels he selected, so he will surely be able to recommend the most approachable. Open sandwiches served here are also made with premium ingredients, and the original Neapolitan tarallo they offer seems to have been created to pair with brut champagne.
A bit away from the worldly heart of Trieste, but still in the city centre, Enoteca Giovinoto is more focused on regional production, and offers a respectable choice of wines from Carso, Collio and Friuli, on whose side selected Italian and international wine can also be found. It’s the place where you’re more likely to find fine amber wines by the glass and traditional-method sparklings from alternative varieties and/or wine regions. Again, if you’re unsure of the wine profile, rely on Riccardo’s suggestion. Just make sure you’re hungry enough to indulge in some zero-food-miles tapas made of local cold cuts and delicious fish preserves.
In the town’s sector where the synagogue and the historic Caffè San Marco are also found, the former ‘osteria’ (tavern), now ‘enoteca’ (wine bar) Ai Cavai has new owners and a beautiful wine selection. Although still young, Andrea and Valentina matured their experience in Germany and in Italy, and now they put together a remarkable cellar with bottles sourced from all over Italy, as well as some gems from France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. There’s no kitchen, but it’s a great place for a top-quality lunch break as well: ask Andrea to create one of his delicious panini from his fresh Italian bread and his refined selection of artisanal cold cuts. He will also easily pair it with the perfect glass.
La Bottiglia Volante, Enoteca Giovinoto and Enoteca Ai Cavai all sell bottles to take away, too.
Now it’s time to have dinner
Antica Trattoria Menarosti and Nero di Seppia remain fixtures for a fish-based dinner with a fine bottle of wine, and so will be in all likelihood Bracerie Venete for those who prefer meat (something I haven’t tasted in a while).
Mimì e Cocotte (via Cadorna 19, perfect if you just stepped out from an exhibition at the Museo Revoltella or the Salone degli Incanti) is not new but it has dramatically improved its wine offer in recent years. The menu varies, but it’s always a short list of traditional, mouth-watering Italian recipes – lasagne, home-made tagliatelle, fried meatballs, supplì – that reflects the Tuscan-Emilian origins of Giovanna, the chef/owner and the mind behind this cozy, unusual (for Trieste) bistrot that also serves brunch on weekends and Thai dinners every now and then. The wine list is a ten-page or so booklet ranging from Valle d’Aosta to Sardinia, basically including only natural/biodynamic wines, and allowing a bit more space for local producers (including some great Slovene ones) and Lambruscos. Again, if you are afraid of the wild aromas your wine may show, ask for Davide’s advice.
Al Petes is a more formal place, serving refined, creative dishes from land and sea, adding a contemporary, Asian twist to local traditional recipes. The wine list is pretty long and ranges from famous producers from internationally renowned appellations to smaller artisan winemakers from the province of nowhere. It is one of the places local wine lovers choose when they are in the mood for fine dining with a special bottle.
Enoteca Nanut is included in basically every guide to Trieste and already has a reputation among both visitors and most serious local wine lovers. The selection of wines by the glass is the largest in town to the writer’s knowledge and includes an ample range of regional wines as well as a similar number of wines from the rest of Italy and abroad. The food menu is much shorter but not less refined and almost always includes at least one meat-based and one fish-based dish, as well as pasta and a gourmet sandwich. Don’t step out without having had their ‘doped’ tiramisù. Nanut is above all an enoteca, so you can also simply have an aperitivo or shop for some souvenirs, helped by the expert owner, Luca.
You’ll then want to grab a souvenir
The panorama of wine shops hasn’t changed much in the last five years in Trieste, setting aside the above-mentioned enoteche that also sell bottles to take away, and a tiny supermarket with a selection of fine wines that opened in the town’s centre but has already closed. Enoteca Bischoff in via Mazzini is still owned by the same family (they withdrew from Caffè Tommaseo only, not from the shop) and continues to offer a high-quality wine selection, with labels sourced from almost everywhere, described by competent staff. There is also an emerging production of liquors and spirits in the area of Trieste, and Bishoff offers some of the most interesting of those, too.
Luckily, the small Enoteca Adriatica is still open (it’s owned by the writer’s husband, which explains such enthusiasm!) and it still offers a selection of mainly foreign wines, including some very interesting ‘not so foreign’ producers from Slovenia and Austria. As stated previously, Alessio is available for deliveries and wine tastings at basically any hotel/boat/holiday apartment in town upon agreement. Just please don’t ask him for Prosecco: there is so much more than that in the north-eastern corner of Italy!
Photo at top by Lorenza Pravata.
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