{"id":2395,"date":"2013-12-27T12:49:59","date_gmt":"2013-12-27T11:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=2395"},"modified":"2022-05-30T01:51:18","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T23:51:18","slug":"drinking-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/drinking-in-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"Drinking in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week in Italy, and all over the world, holiday celebrations are in full swing.\u00a0 And where there are parties, of course there are plenty of alcoholic libations.\u00a0 However, drinking in Italy<\/a> is not the same sport as found in other (read: English-speaking) countries.\u00a0 Because the truth is, Italians are not really \u201cdrinkers,\u201d per se.\u00a0 At least not in the way that an American understands the concept.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it before, but it\u2019s worth repeating: In Italy, alcohol goes with <\/i>things, and drinking to get drunk is not<\/i> an acceptable form of recreation.\u00a0 Indeed, public intoxication brings shame on yourself and your family, unlike in Anglo cultures where the same behavior earns praise and admiration from your friends down at the pub.<\/p>\n

Still, there are plenty of potent potables<\/a> to enjoy in Italy, but you have to be selective. Sticky sweet cordials abound. \u201cVino sfuso,\u201d<\/i> or table wine, while conceptually appealing, is by and large horrible (more on this later). And nobody in Italy knows how to make a proper dry martini.<\/p>\n

No, italiani,<\/i> you can\u2019t just pour Martini Bianco in a glass with an ice cube and call it a cocktail. Vodka or gin is required, and in a much great proportion than you all seem to believe.\u00a0 The vermouth should merely be \u201cintroduced\u201d to the spirits, preferably by the drop. \u00a0Or, as Churchill used to proclaim, just a small nod of acknowledgment from the other side of the room constitutes sufficient involvement on the part of the vermouth.<\/p>\n

However, if you have a look around at what the folks are drinking in Italy this time of year, there are a few interesting winter traditions of note.<\/p>\n

Drinking in Italy during the holidays<\/h2>\n

Vin Brul\u00e9:<\/b> this is a holiday favorite in the north of Italy, similar to what English-speaking countries refer to as mulled wine.\u00a0 According to my friend Paolo (a.k.a. \u201cQuatrofromaggio<\/a>\u201d), \u201cThe practice of mulling wine goes back to medieval times, probably as a way to use up low quality or spoiled wines. \u00a0Mulled wine has then remained popular as a comforting winter drink and as a remedy for colds and flus. \u00a0Its curative effects have since found confirmation in the anti-inflammatory properties of red wine and in the high content of antiseptics and antioxidants of cloves and cinnamon.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, as I\u2019ve already mentioned, Italians aren\u2019t particularly keen on recruiting this concoction as a means to getting inebriated. \u00a0As Paolo further points out: \u201cVin Brul\u00e9 is usually boiled until no alcohol remains.\u00a0 Mulled wine, instead, is only warmed up for a short amount of time and at a lower temperature to preserve the alcoholic content. \u00a0Occasionally, a shot of brandy or sherry is also added at the end for an extra bite.\u201d\u00a0 No big surprise there.<\/p>\n

Cioccolata Calda:<\/b> this not the \u201cSwiss Miss Instant Cocoa\u201d of your childhood, and thank goodness for that!\u00a0 Italian hot chocolate is a warm, thick, delicious treat.\u00a0 Not really a beverage so much as a smooth, rich, pudding-like dessert.\u00a0 So yes, you\u2019ll need a spoon and not<\/i> a cocktail straw.\u00a0 But be warned: while delicious, it\u2019s also very filling, so a little goes a long way.\u00a0 You just need enough to warm up your insides and indulge your taste buds in the chocolaty goodness.<\/p>\n

\"drinkingBombardino:<\/b> this drink is really \u201cthe bomb!\u201d (sorry, couldn\u2019t resist). It\u2019s especially popular in and around the ski resorts this time of year. \u00a0It is made by mixing 1\/2 Advocaat (or eggnog, if you must) and 1\/2 Brandy.\u00a0 It is served hot and with whipped cream on top.\u00a0 There are variations that include the adding of coffee, rum, or, whiskey.\u00a0 The \u201ccalimero\u201d version is one part Brandy, one part Vov (an egg-based liqueur), and one part espresso.\u00a0 A couple of these will send you back up to the top of the slopes, and then down the double black diamond trails like a bomb.\u00a0 The mix of high heat, high alcohol, and high caffeine will have you exclaiming, \u201cWow! \u00c8 veramente una bomba!\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n

If you want to read some more interesting winter drink recipes, check out this article from my friends at Italy Magazine:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.italymagazine.com\/featured-story\/taste-christmas<\/a><\/p>\n

Vino della Casa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“Oh, tu, caraffa di vino, nel deserto con la bella che amo,”disse il vecchio poeta.”Che la brocca di vino<\/p>\n

al bacio dell’amore aggiunga il suo bacio.”<\/td>\n

“Oh, thou, carafe of wine, in the desert with the beautiful one that I love,”sung the ancient poet.”Let the jug of wine<\/p>\n

to the kiss of love, add its own kiss.”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

–Pablo Neruda<\/p>\n

\"wines
Look at the label before opting for the house wine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ll often hear tourists claim that, while eating at a quaint little trattoria in Trastevere, they drank the house wine and it was wonderful!!!\u00a0 Sadly, this is rarely true.\u00a0 We want<\/i> it to be true because it satisfies a role in our \u201cla dolce vita\u201d<\/i> fantasy.\u00a0 We want to go back and tell our friends about the amazing table wine that we drank for just 2 Euros a glass!\u00a0 No added sulfites!\u00a0 No headache the next day!\u00a0 But in reality, drinking the house wine is equivalent to drinking water from a garden hose.\u00a0 It quenches your thirst and it\u2019s usually potable\u2014but only just.<\/p>\n

Tiny Bubbles<\/h2>\n

But speaking of the frizzante<\/i> wines, which are the best Italian varieties to ring in the New Year?\u00a0 Of course, you could just go for traditional French Champagne.\u00a0 But Italy offers a wide range of bubbly wines that are just as tasty and festive.\u00a0 And much less expensive, too.<\/p>\n

Everybody knows about Prosecco<\/span><\/b>, which comes from the Veneto region and is made from white grapes called, not surprisingly, \u201cProsecco,\u201d or sometimes \u201cGlera.\u201d Most Prosecco wines are meant to be enjoyed young and fresh, so don\u2019t think that you should look for a particular \u201cclassic\u201d vintage the way you might with a French Champagne.\u00a0 The most famous area for this wine is Valdobbiadene (Italian pronunciation: valdob\u02c8bja\u02d0dene), in the hills north of Treviso, if you want to impress your dinner guests.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Prosecco is produced in either the fully sparkling (spumante) or lightly sparkling (frizzante) styles.\u00a0 Prosecco spumante, which has undergone a full secondary fermentation, is the more expensive variant. \u00a0Some of these wines may also contain some Pinot Bianco or Pinot Grigio grapes. \u00a0Depending on their sweetness, Proseccos are labelled \u201cBrut\u201d (up to 12 grams per liter of residual sugar), \u201cExtra Dry\u201d (12\u201317 g\/l), or \u201cDry\u201d (17\u201332 g\/l).<\/p>\n

Asti (or Asti Spumante<\/span><\/b>) is a sparkling white Italian wine that is produced throughout southeastern Piedmont, but is particularly focused around the towns of Asti and Alba. It is made solely from Moscato Bianco grapes and therefore it\u2019s one of the sweetest sparkling wines of Italy.\u00a0 Its inherent sweetness, frothy bubbles, and low alcohol content make it well suited to be paired with dessert.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it has never been considered a prestigious wine because most Asti Spumante consumed abroad is of low quality, giving it an undeserved bad reputation.\u00a0 When in Italy, give it a try and you might acquire a newfound respect for this underrated bubbly.<\/p>\n

Fragolino<\/span><\/b> has an interesting history and this little wine is somewhat of a troublemaker for a few reasons.\u00a0 First of all, its appeal is sneaky and can bewitch the unaware drinker with its strawberry-like aromas. \u00a0Kind of like those silly wines that gave you your first hangover in high school.\u00a0 It is made from a dark, purple-skinned vine called Vitis labrusca,<\/i> or what Americans might know as the Isabella grape.<\/p>\n

Now here is where this wine might actually get you into some real trouble.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because technically it\u2019s illegal to sell it in Italy.\u00a0 You see, Vitis labrusca<\/i> is historically blamed as the American grape variety that carried the phylloxera plague to Europe in the 19th<\/sup> century, destroying much of Europe\u2019s wine producing vines. \u00a0Later, American phylloxeraresistant rootstocks were subsequently imported to Europe so that European vines could be re-grafted onto the resistant strains and resume their wine production. \u00a0So now this wine is sort of the \u201cvino non grata\u201d in these parts.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re feeling a bit frisky, go on, give it try!<\/p>\n

(Note: While it is illegal to sell Fragolino in Italy, it is NOT illegal to produce it for personal consumption.\u00a0 Kind of like Absinthe in France or marijuana in Holland).<\/p>\n

Buone Feste!<\/h2>\n

Well, that\u2019s my little year-end round up of Italian-style celebration in a glass<\/a>.\u00a0 Yes, drinking in Italy goes way beyond cheap table wine. \u00a0I thank you all for reading my blog this past year and for offering your feedback in the comments section. Ciao!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week in Italy, and all over the world, holiday celebrations are in full swing.\u00a0 And where there are parties, of course there are plenty of alcoholic libations.\u00a0 However, drinking in Italy is not the same sport as found in other (read: English-speaking) countries.\u00a0 Because the truth is, Italians are not really \u201cdrinkers,\u201d per se.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[67,183,61,184,381,63],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12060,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions\/12060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}