Italian drinking 101
  • Max2013 December 2011
    It is holiday time, so here I provide some drinking-related terms and habits so that, in case you fly to Italy for vacation, you will be able to drink responsibly and without being too much of a tourist. So let start with the unpeasant part of drinking: ubriaco = drunk person. Un ubriaco. Below you find some basics....


    VINO = Wine 

    • Un bianchetto = A small/little (glass of) white wine.
    • Un goccio = A drop, which may become a few drops...
    • Un quartino = A small glass of wine, or a small caraf (quarter of a liter, convert into gallons if you like). It is usually used in little restaurants for house wine = vino della casa. 


    BIRRA = Beer 

    • Birra in bottiglia = Bottled beer.
    • Birra alla spina = Draught beer. 
    • Una birretta = A cheeky, little beer. "Facciamoci una birretta"
    • Una birra piccola/media/grande = Small/medium/large beer.

    By the way, most pubs in Italy are called "birreria", which means brewery. 


    APERITIVO = Aperitif. 
    Although the culinary reason for aperitivo (from "aprire" i.e. open your stomach for food to come) has been around for centuries, since about 2001, Aperitivo has become a well-established social trend in Italy -- from 5pm to 8pm bars are full of people having an aperitivo.

    • Bianco macchiato (or con) aperol = White wine, usually prosecco, with Aperol and a slice of orange or, in some areas of Italy, lemon.
    • Prosecco = Sparkling, dry, white. 


    LIQUORI  = Spirits 

    • Grappa = brandy distilled from wine or must. It is drunk in many ways, straight, in the coffee, etc etc. 
    • Un amaro or Un digestivo = A bitter spirit (because of herbal content) said to help digestion, therefore also known as Un digestivo. There is a Italian brand of amaro that is now very famous and popular and "young" in the USA: funnily enough, that same brand is considered very very unsophisticated (to say it kindly) in Italy. Go figure.
  • Melissa December 2011
    Vorrei un bellini di Harry's Bar!
  • Max2013 December 2011
    Actually, I used to go there quite often.  Do not forget Carpaccio. 

    Roxy Bar in Bologna is another "institutional" place for a drink or coffee -- quoted in one of the most famous Italian songs (by Vasco Rossi) "... e poi ci troveremo come le star a bere del whisky al Roxy Bar". Disclaimer: I used to get my daily coffee there while in college. 
  • beto January 2012
    Fernet Branca is the name of a famous Italian Un digestivo.  Funny, it is very popular in Argentina with cola.
  • Max2013 January 2012
    Really? That is interesting. Yes, Fernet is a digestivo. An old commercial said "Sopra tutto, Fernet Branca", which literally means: "Above all, Fernet Branca". But it may also mean, and that was the subtlety, "over all you ate", get a digestivo to digest. To make the point, the commercial featured an eagle flying over the Alps. 
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