What Is an Aperitif? Meaning, Examples and How to Serve One

From the Latin aperire, "to open". An aperitif is the drink that opens the evening — served before dinner, traditionally believed to awaken the appetite. The custom is strongest in Italy and France, where the pre-dinner hour has its own name, rituals, and snacks.

Ah-pair-ih-TEEF. The Italian form is aperitivo (ah-peh-ree-TEE-voh), the Spanish aperitivo, and the French apéritif — all from the same Latin root. In Italy the word names both the drink and the social hour around it.

Four families cover it. Bitter liqueurs: Campari, Aperol, Suze, Salers. Aromatized wines: dry vermouth, Lillet Blanc, Cocchi Americano. Dry fizz: brut prosecco, Champagne, or a Spritz built on either. Fortified wine: fino or manzanilla sherry. What unites them is lightness, dryness, and usually a bitter edge.

Timing and weight. Aperitifs come before the meal: light, dry, gently bitter. Digestifs come after: darker, sweeter, stronger — amari, fernet, brandy. Many Italian bottles state their allegiance on the label, and some, like sweet vermouth, happily play both roles.

It can be either — the word names the occasion, not a product category. Aperitif wines (vermouth, quinquinas like Lillet) are wine-based and lower in alcohol; aperitivo liqueurs (Campari, Aperol, gentian liqueurs) are spirit-based and more intense. Both are poured before dinner, often over ice with a twist.

Neat or on the rocks: a small stemmed glass or a rocks glass with a single large cube. Spritzes and other built drinks: a large wine glass full of ice. Whatever the vessel, serve it cold — chill the glass, the bottle, or both. Aperitifs are at their best bracing.

The Spritz family first: Aperol Spritz, the more bitter Campari Spritz, and the Hugo — prosecco, elderflower, mint, and soda, the gentle non-bitter cousin from the Alps. Beyond those: the Americano (Campari, sweet vermouth, soda), bitters and soda, or simply dry vermouth over ice with an olive. None takes more than two minutes.

In Italy, roughly six to eight in the evening — after work, before dinner. Bars set out snacks, the drinks stay light, and the point is the pause as much as the glass. Adopting the ritual at home takes nothing more than a bottle, ice, and the discipline to stop at one or two.

For most tables: Aperol if the crowd is new to bitter drinks, Campari for those who are not, dry vermouth or Lillet Blanc straight from the fridge, and fino sherry for the wine-minded. Hosting a party? One bottle of bitter liqueur plus prosecco and soda covers everyone — that is the whole Spritz formula. Serve everything cold, in small pours, with something salty alongside.

A spritz is the Italian aperitif: bitter liqueur, prosecco, and a splash of soda — the Aperol Spritz is the template. A spritzer is simpler and older than its trendy cousin: dry white wine lengthened with sparkling water, nothing bitter about it. To make one, pour three parts chilled white wine over ice and top with one part soda. If you want the pre-dinner edge, reach for the spritz.