Lazio

Introduction

Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, has one of the longest continuous winemaking histories in Italy, dating back over two thousand years to when the hills southeast of the capital supplied wine to ancient Rome itself.

Terroir and Winemaking

Frascati, produced in the volcanic Castelli Romani hills just outside Rome, is Lazio's best-known wine — a light, easy-drinking white traditionally made from Malvasia and Trebbiano that has long been the everyday wine of choice in Roman trattorias. The volcanic soils around Rome, shaped by the region's ancient geological activity, give Lazio's whites a distinctive freshness and mineral undertone. In recent years, a new generation of producers has pushed for more serious, terroir-expressive wines, moving beyond Frascati's historically simple reputation toward greater complexity and ambition.