Cantina Comandini
Hidden beneath a nondescript doorway on Via E. Filiberto, Cantina Comandini is one of the last functioning wine cellars in Frascati's historic centre where you can fill your own bottle directly from the barrel — a tradition called sfuso that was once common across the Castelli Romani but has almost entirely vanished. The Comandini family has been producing Frascati DOC here since 1924, ageing thei
The Sfuso Experience
You bring your own bottle or buy one of the cantina's recycled glass flagons for a euro; the wine is drawn from a stainless steel tap connected to barrels in the cave behind the counter and costs around €1.50 per litre — probably the best-value glass of wine in the province of Rome.
The white is crisp and faintly floral, best drunk within 48 hours of filling; the cantina also produces a surprisingly structured rosso made from Cesanese grapes grown on their small plot near Grottaferrata.
Finding It and Fitting In
The cantina has no sign beyond a small handwritten card; ring the bell and wait. Inside, the low tufo ceiling drips with condensation and the temperature stays at a constant 14°C regardless of the season — bring a light layer even in July.
The clientele is entirely local: retired men playing cards, a housewife filling two litres for Sunday lunch, a builder stopping in on his way home. Sit at the wooden bench, order a glass and absorb one of the most authentic corners of Frascati that no guidebook has yet managed to ruin.
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