Private Wine Tasting in Rome with a Host Matched to You

The matching is the product. Within 24 hours of booking you get a short questionnaire about your personality and interests, and the answers decide which host you are paired with. That host then contacts you directly, suggests an itinerary and agrees a meeting time and place with you. Which means the stops listed anywhere are examples, not promises. The operator says so plainly and it is worth repeating: your host chooses the places, based on you. What stays fixed is the wine. Over three hours you taste three wines, each paired with local cheeses, cured meats or bread; the operator mentions prosciutto, specialty cheeses and olives. The idea is to travel through Italy's wine regions without leaving Rome, and to pick up along the way how food and wine are matched. A glass with cheese and a few slices of cured meat is close to what Romans call aperitivo, but the drinks here are wine only. No spritz, no beer, and anything beyond the three tastings is paid for separately. Where the glasses are poured depends on what you say you want. The operator's examples: an underground wine cellar, an artisanal cheese shop, the busy terrace of a wine bar, a trattoria near Trastevere, a tasting room such as Vino Roma in Monti. Walking between them you might pass Santa Maria del Popolo, where two Caravaggios hang, or the Trevi Fountain. It is private, for up to eight people per booking, hosted in English or Italian. You move on foot, though the host can suggest public transport or a taxi (at your own cost), and a hotel meet-up is possible on request if you are staying centrally. Tickets to attractions are not included. The itinerary stays flexible once you are out, so you can change your mind halfway through, which is closer to how Romans actually do this than a fixed route would be.