Firenzeil vino
Ordering wine and an aperitivo in Italian
23 phrases · 4 stops · press a line to turn it over
Early evening in Italy is for the aperitivo: a drink before dinner, usually with something to eat beside it, at a bar with tables on the pavement. Someone says facciamo un aperitivo? and an hour later you are still there.
Every phrase here comes from Verba’s ticket machine, where you hear it, read it and choose what it means. At the bottom of the page there is a ticket of five to try.
01Making a plan
02Wine
03Beer, or nothing strong
04Cheers, and the next round
On the back of the ticket
- Aperitivo is a time, not a drink
- It runs from about six until dinner, which in Italy is late. Order a spritz, a glass of wine or a soft drink and small things to eat usually come with it: crisps, olives, little bits of bread. In some bars a buffet comes with the price of the drink.
- The house wine is good
- Il vino della casa comes by the glass or by the carafe, a quarter, half or whole litre, and in an ordinary trattoria it is local and fairly priced. Nobody will think less of you for ordering it instead of a bottle from the list.
- Cin cin, and look up
- Cin cin or alla salute both work for a toast. Italians look each other in the eye as the glasses touch. Rounds are less of a rule than in a British pub; often one person pays this time and another next time, which is what stavolta offro io promises.
Biglietto · Try it
What does it mean?
Question 1 of 5: Facciamo un aperitivo?
Verba prints lessons like these as train tickets out of Florence, and Selene, its AI tutor, talks them through with you out loud.
