As one of the largest wine producing countries in the world, Italy always has something spectacular to offer on the wine front. Whether taking a wine tour through famous regions like Tuscany, or traipsing through small towns like Sienna, fine wine and idyllic scenery are pretty much guaranteed. But jaw dropping drinking locations don’t have to be outdoors. In the city of Matera, which is about three hours south of Naples, a new winery offers guests the chance to experience wine tasting in a sasso, or wine cave.
A sasso is a cave dug into limestone, and the city of Matera is famous for them. The caves are understood to be some of the first human shelters in Italy. Wine enthusiast Gian Paolo Buziol took advantage of these unique sites and started Enoteca dai Tosi, a winery situated deep within one of the caves. According to the winery, tosi (the venetian noun for guys) welcome visitors and guide them down into the cave for a wine and food tour. The cellar contains 250 different Italian wines, and the winery offers a variety of cicchetti, small Venetian tapas.
Inside the cave there is a bar where visitors are prompted to socialize with other wine enthusiasts, although experiencing the wine and the space solo is completely acceptable. Patrons can sample wine by the glass or the bottle and can explore the three story circular staircase carved out of the cave. This winery is definitely something different, and is a great example of how tasting wine can give someone a deeper understanding of the history and culture of a particular city.
