Wine from Sicily or Toscany, Piemont or Trentino? At the Enoteca Costantini in Rome, there are so many choices that it's hard to know where to even start.

Rome's enormous vine vault offers a selection second to none - from economical house wines to highly sought-after bottles selling for 25 000 Euro per piece, every facet of wine appreciation is represented here. The 25 000 Euro bottle in this case is a Brunello di Montalcino Biondi Santi Riserva from 1891.

Wine from the Bahamas

Enoteca even has wine from Canada and from the Bahamas. There are also innumerable champagnes and sparkling wines of varying percentages. The bottles are stored in a wine cellar that encompasses 800 square meters: nearly 1000 red, white, amber and rosés ranging from a few years old to centurians are found here. Some are kept in special locked cabinets, the doors of which are adorned with wrought iron vines.

The Vatican is right around the corner

The Enoteca wine cellar has been at the Piazza Cavour - a few steps from the Vatican - since 1972. Today, the address is considered one of the finest wine destinations in Rome, if not all of Italy. Gourmets pass up the chance to see the Spanish Steps and the Colosseum in favor of going first to get a good bottle of red wine. Presumably, the old monuments will still be there in a few hours.

Because wine happens to go so well with food, Enoteca is also attached to a warmly decorated gourmet restaurant. Il Simposio is the kind of restaurant where you start with the wine you want, and then start thinking about the dishes that might accompany it well. Here you will find fine Italian specialties: there are innumerable varieties of antipasti, small items like cheeses and sandwiches, meat dishes, creations with shellfish, and specialties like Carpaccio and kamut spaghetti.

Piazza Cavour 16, Rome, Telephone: +39 063203575/ Opening hours: Mo-Sa, 12.3-15 and 19.30-23, wine bar Mo-Sa, 12.30-15 and 18-23