Cantine Isola
Via Paolo Sarpi, 31
'A me piacciono gli anfratti bui delle osterie dormienti, dove la gente culmina nell’eccesso del canto, a me piacciono le cose bestemmiate e leggere, e i calici di vino profondi, dove la mente esulta, livello di magico pensiero.(...)'
Alda Merini 'Le Osterie'
The Cantine Isola are the ideal place where you can leave behind your daily stress, exorcising it with a goblet of excellent wine and a chat amongst friends, immerging yourself behind old bookshelves that hold poems and novels or sitting comfortably in the outside dehor. It is a place of simple sincerity, with an antique taste, that boasts a long and interesting history, as the 1896 copy of “La Battaglia” newspaper set on display proves. On that old piece of paper, a title recites: “Boeucc dell’Isola - Wine Shop”. For a fortunate coincidence, the venue has been passed on between two families whos surnames are both “Isola”, even though they were not relatives. Another curious detail is that the winery was opened in the “Isola” area of the city, and was bought in 1991 by Giovanni Sarais, a shopowner from Sardinia - thus, someone who…comes from an island! (or an ‘Isola’, in italian)
Luca Sarais, Giovanni’s son, was studying Economics and Commerce in University at the time, and had no interest whatsoever towards grapes, wine culture, and wine etiquettes. It was thanks to Milly Isola, wife of the shop’s ex-owner Giacomo 'Jack lo stappeur’, that Luca was slowly and naturally guided towards what since then has become not only his job, but also his biggest passion. Today, there isn’t a single bottle set amongst the shelves (and there are A LOT of bottles!) that has a history Luca doesn’t know about. He personally travels across Italy discovering small and large winemakers, because he knows that “behind each bottle is the personality and the pride of the man who put his effort and work into creating that particular wine”. The wine shop also has a hidden romantic side, thanks to the gentle presence of Concetta, Vanni’s wife and Luca’s mother: she is the one who chooses the poems that rapture the convivial souls of the venue’s guests every tuesday night at 8pm, at the sound of tingling bells. In short: here you can enjoy a happy hour with a glass of wine carefully selected for you, some excellent mediterranean snacks directly from the bar counter, history and stories, poetry, relax, and great company.