Tasting in a Castle is a lovely sustainable tasting experience which takes place at Osteria dell’Elefante located in the cellar of Castello di Torre in Pietra. Surrounded by a sacred and mysterious wood, the village of Torre in Pietra, about 40 minutes’ drive from Rome, has a thousand tales. Between history and legends linked by a thin thread, the fortified complex welcomes you in a magical atmosphere out of time. An evocative place where you can eat dishes prepared with products from the farm or from the organic Roman countryside, combined with the wines in production.
This tasting is a unique experience in a place full of history: the fulcrum of this location is Torre in Pietra Castle of medieval origin. Over the centuries it was a luxurious hunting lodge and a place where popes such as Benedict XVIII visited in 1725. The estate covers about 150 hectares of land, consisting of arable land, vineyards and olive groves. The existence of vineyards around the castle is documented since the seventeenth century.
It is within this wonderful context that the Osteria was born: in addition to the production of eleven wines, made from grapes harvested in the fifty hectares of vineyards, the farm produces oil, honey, chickpeas and vegetables. The idea is to offer the wines of the winery in combination with the raw materials and cuisine of the Roman countryside. The Osteria use the organic agricultural products of the estate and those of other organic breeders and farmers in Lazio.
Osteria dell’Elefante is called after the prehistoric elephant that has been resting on the adjacent hill for 400,000 years. It was here in 1938 during excavations that some incredible prehistoric elephant remains were found. An enormous tusk was found and stolen by the Nazis, as well as a large femur bone, which can still be seen inside the cellar.