Ciao, bellas!
This post comes to you from deep in the heart of Tuscany but, no, we’re not talking about wine today (well, kinda sorta not.) Nope, we’re talking about the trademark cocktail of Venice, the Venetian Spritz!
To be fair, the base of this cocktail is prosecco so, yes, there is wine involved, just not any of the big reds that we’ve been enjoying throughout our trip so far. But that all changes tomorrow when we head to Venice and the land of sparkling wine and spritzes!
If you’ve ever been to Italy, there’s no question that you’ve enjoyed (or at least seen tons of people enjoying) a spritz around 4pm in the afternoon, gathering at the sidewalk bars after a long day at work. It’s known as a classic aperitivo, or drink to whet the appetite and get it ready for a big meal. It’s also fairly low octane, with no hard alcohol involved, so you can drink quite a few during happy hour and still walk in a fairly straight line to dinner, which typically doesn’t start in Europe until 8:30pm at the earliest. Of course this later start time means you have to make your happy hour count when you’re in Italy!
I have to admit, it took me a while to warm up to spritzes, because I wasn’t always a huge fan of Aperol, which is basically the only other primary ingredient in these cocktails besides prosecco. You can imagine how disappointing this was to me when I was in Venice last (about seven years ago) and didn’t even thoroughly enjoy the drink that represented this amazing place.
But I’m happy to report that I’ve aged a bit since then, and thankfully so has my palate. I now thoroughly enjoy the taste of Aperol, especially when accompanied by sparkling wine, which we all know is my absolute favorite!
I love that this drink is so easy to make, and even those of you who are reading this from home can make yourselves a Venetian Spritz (or two, or three) this weekend to enjoy with me in spirit. We’ll certainly be enjoying plenty of them as we explore the city over the next few days!
Speaking of, I’m loving hearing all of your suggestions of places to eat, drink, shop and see while we’re there. Keep them coming! We really have no set agenda for this leg of our trip and love finding hidden gems.
Anyhow, I’m going to keep this short today, because who wants to be stuck at the computer when we have so many things to see and do on our last full day in Tuscany? We’re headed to Montepulciano today, and I’m so excited to show the hubs and the in-laws one of my favorite little wine towns in all of the land. Be sure to follow along on my IG stories to see all that we’re up to.
Now raise your glass and cheers a Venetian Spritz with me!
Venetian Spritz
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Aperol
- 4 ounces prosecco
- 1 orange wheel, cut in half
Instructions
- Pour Aperol into a champagne flute (or wine glass filled with ice if you want to be really traditional) and then slowly pour prosecco over top. Be sure not to pour too quickly or you will have a bubble over.
- Take one half of the orange wheel and squeeze the juice into the drink. Use the other half of the orange wheel as a garnish, or additional juice if you want a little more sweetness to your drink.
Nutrition
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