Cinque Terre

[Cajun Emily]

Despite the hordes of tourists visiting the Cinque Terre I am still going to spend three days there this October (5 days in Rome, 3 Piedmont). I've read plenty of threads on Restaurants but none on wine.

Does anyone have recommendations for wine tours, wine bars, or just restaurants with good wine lists? I've read that it's nearly impossible for tourists to find the good Ligurian wine as it all gets drunk by the Genoese (Genovese? Genoans?), all the wine left for the tourists is crap. Is this true?

Also, if anyone has any new experiences with restaurants in CT (since 2006) put your review here please!

[Carlsbad]

The Cinque Terre shouldn't be too crowded in October, especially if you avoid the weekends. The best meals we had were at Miki in Monterosso, which had very good whole fish from a display in front of the restaurant and excellent pasta with pesto. They have a decent wine list there. Like the Cinque Terre itself, the virtue of the local wine is its simplicity. We tried the best Cinque Terre wine off the list at Miki, which is not expensive, and it went well with the food. At the urging of the waiter, we tried the house Cinque Terre wine on a later visit, and I thought it was just about as good.

There is a small wine bar in Monterosso on the main street up from the beach in the old part of town that had some interesting selections and a nice area out front to enjoy them. They also had very good bruschette to go with them. The sweet wine they produce in the Cinque Terre, Sciacchetrà, is interesting enough to try at least once, and their limoncino (which is what they call it there) can be very good.

[Cajun Emily]

The Cinque Terre shouldn't be too crowded in October, especially if you avoid the weekends.  The best meals we had were at Miki in Monterosso, which had very good whole fish from a display in front of the restaurant and excellent pasta with pesto.  They have a decent wine list there. Like the Cinque Terre itself, the virtue of the local wine is its simplicity.  We tried the best Cinque Terre wine off the list at Miki, which is not expensive, and it went well with the food.  At the urging of the waiter, we tried the house Cinque Terre wine on a later visit, and I thought it was just about as good. 

There is a small wine bar in Monterosso on the main street up from the beach in the old part of town that had some interesting selections and a nice area out front to enjoy them.  They also had very good bruschette to go with them.  The sweet wine they produce in the Cinque Terre, Sciacchetrà, is interesting enough to try at least once, and their limoncino (which is what they call it there) can be very good.

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Thanks for the tip, I've heard about Miki several times and will definitely check it out. The wine made in CT is primarily white, and dessert, right? I guess red wouldn't pair as well with the Ligurian cuisine anyway.

[Carlsbad]

I believe that some red wine is being made in the Cinque Terre, but I've never tasted it. The wine you see everywhere is white and dessert.

[Sampaguita]

I've read that it's nearly impossible for tourists to find the good Ligurian wine as it all gets drunk by the Genoese (Genovese? Genoans?), all the wine left for the tourists is crap.   Is this true?

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I can't vouch for wine bars or restaurants, as I haven't been to 5T for years, I am sure that there must still be some Ok restuarants left down there which haven't been subverted by the overwhelming presence of too many trippers, but then its the ambience that counts, for better dining head down to Genova or the Ligurian Riveira, or come up to Piedmont.

But I am afraid that the Cinque Terre wine I have tasted has not been very good. This area produces mainly a mixture of local white grapes nothing of note but look for a pure Vermentino if you can find it, its a touch sweet, but better. If you can find it, look for Schiaccetra, a late harvest passito (sweet desert) wine reputed to be quite good, although I have yet to taste one.

I think long time ago most of the vintners stopped cultivating their vines (hard work) for easier pickins renting rooms to tourists. Also IMO Cinque Terre wine was always more of a novelty, then someting serious. Much better Vermentino is produced down in Liguria Ponente on the other side of Genoa as well as Pigato, which I personally prefer as its a dryer wine and sometimes can be very good especially when you are sipping it in a restaurant overlooking la mare.

Reds, not around here, over in Ponente they have Ormeasco a type of Dolcetto, but I would look for a good Barbera from neighouring Piedmont!

[Cajun Emily]

Thanks! I guess I won't waste my time searching for the secret stash of good CT wines, and I'm sure there will be plenty of other Italian wines to choose from. We are going to Piedmont afterwards - this is something that started out as a side trip just to use up extra days, but more and more it's becoming the most anticipated - truffles, wine, fantastic restaurants, and more culturally in tune tourists.