Art and Grape Harvest Celebrated at Sofitel Wine Days 2023 in Rome

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 10/23/2023

Art and Grape Harvest Celebrated at Sofitel Wine Days 2023 in Rome

As the last grape harvests from vineyards are wrapped up for the year and the berries are safely fermenting in their vessels, Sofitel Wine Days once again celebrates another year of great wine. This year’s celebration is combined with visual art dedicated to wine by Gilbert Bages. Bages is a wine photographer and a former winemaker from the Penedes wine region of Spain. He is also the face behind Drink in Moderation, a popular Instagram dedicated to wine.

Sofitel Wine Days is an event that is celebrated all over the world. It gives a unique opportunity in deepening the wine culture with the guidance of wine experts by hosting tastings, meetings and events and in turn, to discover excellent wines, new aromas and flavors. It is also the ideal opportunity to experience the different hotels of the brand around the world. In Rome, the protagonist is art, together with the culture of food and wine during the grape harvest period. It was also realized in collaboration with four local wine producers from the Lazio region selected by wine expert Livia Belardelli which she also guided in a wine tasting and pairing of the dishes of the chef. The venue was the Settimo Restaurant of Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, an elegant restaurant with a panoramic view of the capital, offering authentic cuisine that’s strongly rooted to the gastronomic culture of the Lazio region.

The kitchen is headed by Chef Giuseppe D’Alessio, who for the occasion, has created an autumn menu dedicated to the Roman tradition and Lazio with typical touches of French gastronomy. During the event, he presented different tasting dishes of beef tartare with truffle; shrimp tartare; octopus with tomatoes, olives and rocket; chef’s tortelli with mushrooms; Carnaroli risotto with pumpkin cream, pear mustard and hazelnuts; cod fillet and broccoli cream; rosemary-roasted beef fillet with foie gras and mushrooms; mini creme brûlée and mini crumble. The various proposals which trace a path between France and Rome, gave an opportunity to taste some his new proposals for his rich lunch and dinner autumn menu.

Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, located in the heart of Rome and overlooking Villa Medici, is an ancient 19th century Roman palace renovated by architect Jean Philippe Nuel. It has an elegant restyling of a fusion of Italian and French cultures combining the classicism of La Dolce Vita and the modernism of Art De Vivre with a relaxed atmosphere. “Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is much more than a hotel,” states Elodie Lacroix, General Manager. “It is a home for young artists, in which we love to create a union between different types of art, from culinary to oenological, from photography to painting and sculpture and beyond. And our Settimo Restaurant with terrace on the top floor, is the perfect place to experience and enjoy these forms of art, also thanks to the splendid view of Rome, the city of art par excellence.”

Throughout autumn, at the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, it will be possible to admire the works of Gilbert Bages. Bages spent over a decade working at his family’s winery before studying at Barcelona’s design school where he developed his creativity and artistic sense. He then traveled to the world’s best wine regions, collaborating with companies to show the fun side of winemaking, as a wine lifestyle photographer.

The four wine producers from Lazio were Marco Carpineti, an organic company that has always been linked to the territory and committed to promoting the work of local artists and artisans, important for the valorization of the indigenous grape varieties of Lazio: Nero Buono and Bellone.

Cantine Silvestri is another winery chosen for its classic method sparkling wines. It has been producing sparkling wines in Castelli Romani since 1929 and carries out the promotion of the artistic territory through the project of labels that depict the works of art of the area.

Muscari Tomajoli, the third local wine producer located in the area of Tarquinia, produces extremely elegant wines – all numbered bottles and in limited quantities. Their labels are designed by Guido Sileoni, an artist who takes inspiration from the Etruscan deities and brings a true cultural project to the bottle.

The fourth winery, Principe Pallavicini, a company from Castelli Romani with more than 350 years of history, has always been a promoter of local wines and always closely linked with the world of art thanks to the family’s important artistic collection. In addition, they also organize an annual wine and art event called “Vino e Arte Che Passione”, which transpires inside the family-owned Casino dell’Aurora, with frescoes done by Guido Reni, an Italian painter of the Baroque period.

Ambassador of the French art of living, the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese thus expresses the Italian dolce vita in a journey that expresses passion for art, gastronomy and the world of wine.