Aperitivo Time: A Made in Italy social ritual

The aperitif is a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), which has the effect of stimulating the appetite and aiding digestion. By extension, the aperitif has become a true social ritual, a time for informal sharing, an opportunity to socialise and relax. Alongside the beverage, the aperitif includes a few snacks. But can we speak of a specific time for the aperitif? In the course of the 20th century, alongside consumption for convivial and digestive use during and at the end of meals, alcoholic beverages increasingly found use in the pre-meal. This is what is known in Italian as the 'aperitivo', i.e. the consumption of a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic accompanied by a light meal/tasting) that takes place before one of the main meals of the day (lunch or dinner). It is a kind of warm-up phase to the meal, to enjoy in company. In the aperitif, spirits or wines (think sparkling wines and prosecco, but also vermouth) are often mixed with each other and with other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in what is called a 'cocktail'. The expansion of the aperitif ritual has even changed the products, with wines increasing in alcoholic strength from 12° to even 14°-15°. In our article, we will analyse the evolution of aperitif time, emphasising its 'social construction' and also the fact that it has evolved from a practice destined for the aristocratic and bourgeois classes to a transclass phenomenon, starting from the years of the Italian economic boom and then especially from the 1980s. To this end, we will examine the specific case of vermouth, characterised by an entirely original evolutionary path that has made it recognisable worldwide as one of the excellences of Made in Italy. Vermouth has managed, also thanks to a media representation capable of deeply affecting the collective imagination of consumers, to maintain such an appeal over time as to make it an internationally iconic product, among the most resilient in the medium to long term. Aperitif time, therefore, involves a drink, but moves away from it to become a relational and emotional time.