Anyone who sits down in a grotto for the first time and orders the house wine is usually surprised: a decorated ceramic jug arrives and, instead of glasses, a few tazzine, small bowls. This is not folklore for tourists. It is how wine has always been drunk in front of the cellars.
The boccalino
The boccalino is a round-bellied ceramic jug, often hand-painted with simple patterns. It is filled straight from the barrel in the cellar and comes to the table just like that.
It has two very practical advantages:
- the thick ceramic keeps the wine cool a little longer than a glass carafe, which matters in the courtyard in summer;
- it is sturdy: on a granite table outdoors, a thin glass does not last long.
The tazzine
Tazzine are small ceramic bowls with no stem. The wine poured into them is the house wine, young and simple: it does not need a stemmed glass to be swirled and sniffed. Tazzine stack, do not tip over easily and do not break at the first knock.
There is a less practical side too: the tazzina puts everyone on the same level. Grotto wine is drunk together, without ceremony.
How much to order
We serve the house wine in three sizes:
- 2 dl, for a glass at lunch;
- 5 dl, for two people;
- 1 litre, for the whole table.
The bottles on the wine list, on the other hand, we serve in glasses: a Merlot riserva deserves a proper glass.
Good to know
Do not leave the boccalino in the sun: after half an hour on the table in July, even the coolest wine warms up. If you notice it happening, tell us and we will swap it for one straight from the cellar.