Oldest Supermarket in Rome: 1961

Tucked away behind the 1960 Olympic Village, where the athletes stayed, and backed up against the busy Lungotevere dell'Aqua Acetosa, is the first grocery store in Rome, or so we hear.  Not the first

store that sold groceries--that would take us back into the 19th century, no doubt--but the first American-style grocery, Rome's first supermarket.  By American standards you won't find it "super"; it's quite modest in size, perhaps a 10th of the floor space of the U.S. equivalent, and not much larger than two 7-11s--maybe 3.

The Carrefourgoncino/Shopping at Home

Nor is the exterior especially noteworthy, though the enormous surface parking lot--room for at least a hundred cars and never close to half full--is, for Rome, a spectacle, and for shoppers, a gift.  Dianne took pleasure in the "Carrefourgoncino"--the store's van, parked right there in the spectacle.  The van's name is a word-play on the name of the market--Carrefour--and the Italian word for van, "furgone."

The banners outside the store's entrance announce that the store is open 24/7.  We haven't tried the place at 3 a.m., but I wouldn't count on getting the baby formula at that hour. 

The best part is the wall to the right as you enter, which you can scan as you're waiting in line to be checked out.  Though it didn't open until 1961, the store was apparently built for the 1960s games.  With that in mind, the current owner/tenant, the Carrefour chain, has mounted half a dozen large photos of athletes at the games.

This section of photos is labeled "La Moda del Villaggio" (Village Style)

The store, as it looked probably in the early 1960s.  

While Dianne was shopping I was photographing the photos.  I have included one of them here, as
well as another of the store in operation sometime in the early 1960s (the signs above the vegetables are vintage early-60s shape).  Then a woman cashier (not the owner or the manager) rushed up, shook her finger, and told me that what I was doing was "proibito."  End of photo session. 


Bill  

Not far to the west, the underbelly of the architecturally
significant Corso di Francia

And all around, the buildings of the Olympic Village, now residential housing

The Wine Report: Grocery Store Whites

There are lots of things that are expensive in Rome, but wine isn't one of them.  If you're hooked on the grape, think about traveling to the Eternal City as a money-saving opportunity.  Every sip, more savings. There are some who think you have to go to a dedicated wine store to get quality, and when we want a bottle to take to a friend's home, that's where we go.  But for everyday consumption, there are quality wines to be had at--horrors--the grocery store.  In New York, of course, the grocery stores aren't allowed to sell wine, and in California, where the sale is allowed, the available wines are for the most part familiar, ordinary, and often expensive.



Rome is different.  Most of the chain stores--SMA and Carrefour were our mainstays--stock a nice selection of affordable wines of reasonable quality.  We're white wine drinkers (as we've noted before on the blog), so here are some of our favorite GROCERY STORE WHITES:

Fiano Sannio

Fiano Sannio.  EURO 4.40  One seldom finds Fiano--the name of the grape--in the US.  But it's common in Rome grocery stores.  This one is from Solopaca, in Campania. It's good without being great.  Dianne described it as mildly tasty, rather undistinguished, a little flat, very yellow, and "pretty nice."  "Good for people who don't like too much "profumato"--perfumed quality--in the wine.  Bill found it very pleasant, with no bad notes, and quite flavorful.  A value at less than 6 bucks a bottle.

Villa Folini Ribolla Gialla, 2013.  EURO 6.29  The "brand" is Villa Folini, the grape Ribolla Gialla--seldom seen in the states.  It's from the Venezia region, bottled in the border city of Gorizia.  Despite the name Gialla, which means yellow, it's light in color.  Bill thought it "quite sophisticated," though how he would know

Ribolla Gialla.  On the dining table in our big room in Rome.

this isn't clear.  Dianne said it was "smoother than the other ones."  More expensive than some, but an excellent value nonetheless.  You could take this to a dinner party.

Circeo Blanco

Circeo D.O.P. Blanco Villa Gianna.  EURO 3.49 [really cheap].  Circeo is a hill town/beach community located on the sea less than a 2-hour drive from Rome.  The big hill is fun to climb and from the top there's a fantastic view of the  curving beach to the north.  Circeo wines aren't normally considered to be high quality, but our experts thought otherwise, at least on this occasion.  Dianne tasted a "bit of citrus" while announcing that the wine was "not wimpy...I like that."  Bill's opinion has been lost.  The wine is a combination of Trebbiano, Chardonnay, and Malvasia grapes.  Malvasia, found in many Italian whites because it is so easy to grow, is not known as a distinguished grape.

Muller Thurgau

Muller Thurgau Storie di Vite.  Trentino doc., 2013.  EURO 6.49  Your wine critics used to drink lots of Muller Thurgau, thinking they were very sophisticated.  Their consumption has been much reduced since they learned that it's generally thought of as a rather ordinary grape.  The tasters had different opinions.  Bill, who never found a white wine he didn't like, described a "balanced mix of fruit and savory."  Dianne [who prefers her wines "dry"] thought it "on the sweet side, relatively."

Malvasia

Malvasia Terra de li Pallavicini.  EURO 3.83.  Malvasia is the grape--again, not a distinguished grounding
for the wine.  The Pallavicini are no doubt a family, or they were, and "terra" refers to their land. The wine comes from Lazio, the region of which Rome is a part, so it's local.  Dianne pronounced it "better than Pinot Grigio," which isn't saying much because she finds nearly all Pinot Grigio to be undistinguished.  It's "pleasant," she added, a bit "flat" and "uninspired, but "adequate if you're returning from a trip and need a drink."  No doubt she was returning from a trip and needed a drink.  Bill: "not bright or flinty," but tasty.

Tenuta Ca' Vescovo

Tenuta Ca' Vescovo.  EURO 6.35  Tenuta means something like "homestead," and Ca' means "house of." The wine is from mountainous Friuli, in the northeast of Italy, from whence come many fine whites.  According to the bottle, the wine or the winery or both is/are very old--dating to the early 15th century.  Dianne:  "got a little profumato to it...it's not puny."  Bill:  "full-bodied, hints of apricots."



Bill