By Victor Caneva
If you live in Trieste and love wine, or are simply interested in learning more about it, the recently opened Enoteca Hortis should be on your shortlist of establishments to visit.
Merging the desire to connect with their community and their vast knowledge of wine, owner Marco Ballarin and his family have created a warm environment where purchasing wine transforms into a social and educational experience.
A few weeks ago, I was hurrying with my family through Piazza Hortis and noticed a placard out of the corner of my eye. To my delight, it was advertising vino sfuso at a newly opened enoteca, just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our apartment. I made a mental note and continued to herd my very energetic boys through the piazza.
Translated literally, vino sfuso means “loose wine,” and refers to the Italian tradition of dispensing unbottled wine from kegs or casks. Customers bring their own empty bottles to their local vendor of vino sfuso, be it an enoteca, a supermarket, or even a bar, and fill them up with a variety of wines sold by the liter. Acquiring vino sfuso is more interactive than simply picking up a bottle at the market and one can often find excellent wines at unbelievably low prices (at least for those of us coming from the US or the UK).
Eventually, I ambled down to Enoteca Hortis and, in the course of filling up my bottles with crisp sparkling white and full-bodied refosco, I got to know Marco and his mother a little bit. When speaking to Marco, it quickly became apparent that he is as passionate about people as he is wine. He explained that he wants the enoteca to be more than just a place to purchase wine, but a place for patrons to have authentic experiences – a place to taste new varieties, smell new aromas, and to have conversations about wine and life.
Although he knows infinitely more about wine than I ever will, Marco is not pretentious about it. He does a great job of sharing his knowledge in a way that is accessible and digestible to people like me, who appreciate wine, but can’t really carry on an academic discourse about it…and he speaks English (and French) wonderfully!
Enoteca Hortis’ motif is derived from a first century BC mosaic known as “Il Fiocco,” which was uncovered on the floor of a Roman villa in nearby Aquileia. The mosaic, featuring wild and cultivated vine shoots held together with a bow, marked the part of the villa used for social engagements.
The mosaic holds special significance for the enoteca for several reasons. First, the wild and cultivated shoots joined together represent the different experiences and talents that the members of Marco’s family bring to Enoteca Hortis, with the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The myriad pieces of the mosaic speak to the totality of the wine-making process.
Soil, water, weather, technique, filtering, tradition, hard work, and especially people all go into making the “mosaic” of a single bottle of wine. Having spent many years working in different arenas of the wine industry, Marco’s family is committed to not forgetting all the passion and labor that go into producing quality wine.
Enoteca Hortis features carefully selected wines produced by a variety of wineries, from an exclusive supply of renowned Cantina Rauscedo wines to vintages from smaller, artisanal vineyards.
Despite being a fount of wine wisdom, Marco also enjoys learning from others and values their input on wines they enjoy or would like to be able to find. If you’ve never had a vino sfuso experience, or if you want to taste or learn more about regional wines, pay a visit to Marco and his family at Enoteca Hortis and you won’t be disappointed.
