Drink

Bars, like restaurants, are non-smoking.

Italians enjoy going out during the evenings, so it's normal to have a soft drink in a bar as pre-dinner. It is called Aperitivo. Within the last couple years, started by Milan, a lot of bars have started offering fixed-price cocktails at aperitivo hours (18 - 21) with free, and often a very good buffet meal. It's now widely considered stylish to have this kind of aperitivo (called Happy Hour) instead of a structured meal before going out to dance or whatever.

While safe to drink, the tap water in many parts of Italy can be cloudy with a slight off taste. Most Italians prefer bottled water, which is served almost exclusively in restaurants. Make sure you let the waiter/waitress know you want regular water or else you could get frizzante (or fizzy club soda water) water.

Wine

The Italian Wine is the most exported all over the World. In Italy the wine is a substantial topic, a sort of test which can ensure you respect or lack of attention from an entire restaurant staff (this is why the first question is what you are going to drink). If you are a true connoisseur, don't allow your waiter to discover it; if you don't know how to distinguish wines other than by their color, don't allow your waiter to figure it out either.

Before reaching Italy, have a quick overview on most important regional types (of the region you are planning to go to) and when on site ask the waiter for one of them (not too young, not too old), he/she will suggest you 4/5 wines (always choose the second or the third one). Pay attention to the fact that as Italian Cuisine can be very different region by region (sometimes also town by town), so it can be with wine. So, for example, avoid asking for a bottle of Chianti if you're not in central Tuscany, Italians are masters to match the exact wine with a dish and often every dish has an appropriate wine. The popular "color rule" (red wines with meat dishes, white wines with fish) can be happily broken when proposed by a sommelier or when you really know what you are doing: Italy has many very strong white wines to serve with meat, as well as very delicate red wines for fish.

The "vino della casa" (home-made wine) can be a good drinking opportunity in small villages far from towns (especially in Tuscany), where it likely could be what the patron would really personally drink and/or produce. Otherwise, it usually is a mixture of low-quality poor wines: low price, low flavor, possible day-after-headaches. Good wine can be very costly, but bad wine is still expensive.

Near the town of Alba (Cuneo Province), in the Piedmont grows the Nebbiolo grape, a noble grape. From this grape is produced the prestigious Barolo wines. It has been called the "king of wine" and the "wine of kings." It is considered one of the world´s best red wines. It is a DOCG wine, made entirely from the Nebbiolo grape. Once you have experienced good examples of this wine, you will begin to understand its nobility.

Foreign wines are rarely served (just check the house wine list), but many grapes have French names (like Cabernet-Sauvignon).

Beer

Beer does not belong to the Italian tradition as wine does: even if pubs serving beer are very common they tend to have both little choice and quality. If you are looking for good beers you won't find any problem, you just have to look around a little bit more. First of all, Italian beer market is dominated by international brands and their local belongings, which is fairly comfortable if you are a casual drinker, like most Italians are. Instead, if you are serious about beer drinking, you'll probably be better to find one of the many micro-breweries around the country. They often are run by local beer enthusiasts turned brewers, running small breweries with a pub attached. Their association is called Unionbirrai

Other drinks

• Limoncello. A liquor made of alcohol, lemon peels, and sugar. Limoncello can be considered a "moon shine" type of product as every Italian family, especially in the middle (near Napoli) and southern part of the country, has their own recipe for limoncello. Because lemon trees adapt so well to the Mediterreanean climate, and they produce a large amount of fruit continually throughout their long fruit-bearing season, it is not unusual to find many villa's yards filled with lemon trees bending under the weight of their crop. You can make a lot of lemonade, or better yet, brew your own limoncello. It is mainly considered a dessert liquor, served after a heavy meal (similar to amaretto), and used for different celebrations. The taste can be compared to a very strong and slightly thick lemonade flavor with an alcohol tinge to it. Best served room temperature or chilled in the freezer. It is better sipped than treated as a shooter.


• Don't forget Grappa. You'll either like it or you won't. It's made by fermenting grape stems, so you could imagine how it might taste. If you're going to drink it, then make sure you get a bottle having been distilled multiple times.