Low alcohol drinks?
 

Random question---

On my trip to Italy next week, I expect to be visiting wine bars, etc with my 18 year old sister. While I am an "accomplished" drinker, I suspect that my sister is not. If she wants to partake (and who am I to say no), are there any weak Italian-style drinks to steer her to? I'm think a white wine spritzer? I also have heard of "fresh wine" in Venice, but I have no idea what it is.

As for me, any suggestions for good Italian wines: I am familiar with Prosecco (hmmm), Chianti, Pinot Griggio, and Barbera d'Asti....any other suggestions to look for...I tend to like Pinots, Shiraz, Cabs...I don't like Merlots, sweet wine, or American Chardonnay.

Grazie!!

texstout, you must have been reading my mind. I was just wondering the same thing. Not for myself, but rather for my mother who will be with me in Rome next week and can not drink very much due to an illness and medications.

I was thinking a spritz con aperol might be nice for her, but I am used to having them in Venice and don't necessarily know if I can easily find them in Rome as it's more of a Venetian speciality.

I would also be interested to hear if Prosecco is available in Rome, as well as suggestions for any other lighter/less alcoholic wines and specialty drinks.

Alcoholic drinks are pretty much what they are. Beer is probably the lowest in alcohol that you can drink. You can always go with light on the alcohol mixed drinks. I have also seen many people add water to their wine to thin it down.

BTW, I would suspect that many 18 year olds are more accomplished drinkers than you think.

Statia is on the mark with the Spritz con Aperol. If you can find that, drink it. It was my favorite drink in Italy and on a hot day, it is like mana from heaven.

Is you sister already in college? If so, you might be surprised. And if she is really green, you are surely the safest person to take her out for her first big night.

Statia,

What is aperol? I've seen it written a few times, but am unfamiliar with it. I am sure that we'll find Prosecco in Rome -- I remember drinking it there a couple of years ago, and I buy it all over the States.
I do hope to find something mild (besides beer) that she'll enjoy. Its strange to me (having started early), but my sister hasn't ever drank before - but she is starting to get curious.

Statia -- My husband was making fun of me this weekend becuase I was talking to him all about your your island and the trip reports that I have seen from you on Fodors and written about on another board. He was like "your crazy that you are refering to to these people as if you know them".

thanks!

Hi t,

Light white wines:

Prosecco (fizzy)
Frascati
Orvieto
Lacryma Christi
Verdicchio

All have about 11-12.5% alcohol.

>I tend to like Pinots, Shiraz, Cabs...I don't like Merlots, sweet wine, or American Chardonnay.<

Unlike the US, where varietals are king, Europeans usually blend their wines and rely on "terroire" rather than type of grape.

Amarone
Barolo
Brunello di Montalcino
Chianti
Rosso di Montalcino
Salice Salentino
Valpolicella (good for beginners)

Are all good red wines

((I))

texstout, have a great trip w/your sister.

Statia, I was in Rome a couple of weekends ago and enjoyed Prosecco both in restaurants and from the grocery store. I hope you have a terrific trip with your mom and sis--it's been fun following your trip and I look forward to the report.

texstout, the link below provides some info on spritz con aperol. BTW - I assume you are from Texas like I am?

(I hope this link doesn't spread out and make the left-hand column wide)

http://www.theitaliantaste.com/inter...erol_eng.shtml

I laughed out loud when reading about your husband's response. :) Just give it time. My husband seems to know the regular Fodorites by name and he doesn't even really participate on the board. I'm flattered that you mentioned me, though. (blushing)

mvor, thanks for the info on the Proseco and the well wishes. Only 5 days to go now! We are all three really getting excited about this once in a lifetime opportunity together, especially since we didn't think we'd have my mom around any longer to be able to do this two years ago.

I'd also recommend she try a few full-alcohol wines and such, just go easy on the quantity; starting her off responsibly is probably the best thing you can do. Plus it's Italy, if you're going to start drinking wine somewhere, it's hard to beat.

Just a note on Italian wine:
I am (usually) a real lightweight, but I seemed to feel no effects from the wine we were drinking freely in Rome and Florence. I mentioned to my sisters that I thought the wine must not have the same alcohol content or something.

Come to find out from a winery tour we took, (Accidental Tourist), the wine in Italy has no sulfites and the sulfites are what gives one the headache, etc., that sometimes accompanies a glass or two of wine. So you may find that she will enjoy Italian wine. (We mostly just had the house wine although we had Chianti Classico that was ambrosia!)

Have a wonderful trip!

After dinner, order a sgroppino (I don't think they have taken to calling them Singing Gondoliers yet, even with my lobby effort)

Lemon sorbet
Cream
a touch of vodka
Prosecco

Not very alcoholic, but delicious!
((H))

Maitai, that sounds fabulous! Yum! How exactly do you pronounce that?

There are many non alchohol drinks. One I remember was a fabulous almond flavored drink that my sister loved who is a non drinker.

"Maitai, that sounds fabulous! Yum! How exactly do you pronounce that?"

Unfortunately by the end of meals in Italy, I can barely pronounce my own name, but to my knowledge (what little there is) it is
Sgro - rhymes with grow
ppino - like Pinot in Noir

My Singing Gondolier recipe can be found in the epic
http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/

Soon to be a major motion picture,
Enjoy.
((H))

LC: That is simply not true. Wine in Italy has sulfites, they are just not required to say so on the label as they are in the US.

I think all wine has sulfites, it's part of the chemical reaction that turns grape juice into wine, right?

I figured I would add Moscato d'Asti to the suggestion list. This is a fruity/sweet wine that doesn't come on strong at all. My wife refers to herself as lighter than lightweight, a bubbleweight, but she has no problems downing a glass of the Moscato d'Asti. Some of are favorites are Sori del Re, Sarracco and La Serra. These are 5%-5.5% alcohol by volume, so half that of typical wine.

Tex: What you called "fresh wine" is probably very young wine which would be available during the month or two right after the harvest in the fall. The white will often have some fizz in it.

Ira: Why in the world is Valpolicella "good for beginners?" This is an often superb wine from the Veneto around Verona that is not particularly low in alcohol. Amarone, a serious, very dry red, is a Valpolicella.

All wine, including European and American wines, contains sulfites. This article will help clear up the myth that it's the sulfites in wine that causes headaches.

It's the wine that is causing those headaches. :-)

http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/winecomp/so2.htm ((b))

I stand corrected - note this website:
http://waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/winecomp/so2.htm
Yeast produces sulfites during fermentation so all wine contains sulfites. I was misinformed.

So what accounts for the fact that I found it less intoxicating that usual and that I never had that "wine headache"? Just one of the mysteries of Italy?

Along the lines of spritz con aperol, Cinzano sweet vermouth is good with spritz, and Campari (a bitter, red aperitif) bottles these little drinks that are delicious before and after a meal.

I think that everyone tends to start their drinking with the sweet stuff, and my favorite teen drink was the Malibu Rum with Pineapple juice. It was a standard in Spain and I am sure it is available in Italy.

the Bellini is also a delicious, fruity drink (the ones at Harry's in Venice are well worth the pricetag). Mimosas exist in Spain, so perhaps you can find them in Italy.

If she wants to do a shot, see if a bar has any house specialty. I went to a bar in Florence once that did a really delicious strawberry liqueur with cream liqueur, layered for a nice visual effect. It was smooth and not incredibly alcoholic.

How many Texans are on this thread now? I am at home in Dallas for yet another project. . .

Budman - we were on the same track!

>Wine in Italy has sulfites, ...I think all wine has sulfites, it's part of the chemical reaction that turns grape juice into wine, right?<

Yes, all wine has some sulfite.

It's the additional sulfites that are added as preservatives that can be a problem for many people - eg, cause headaches.

This soes not mean that overindulgence won't cause headaches, too. :)

((I))

Isn't google wonderful? :-)

As I make wine, I know we put sulfites in 3 times -- during the Crush, when racking, and when bottling. We don't use as much as they do in making commercial wines. ((b))

<It's the additional sulfites that are added as preservatives that can be a problem for many people - eg, cause headaches.>

ira, where did you get this? ((b))

Iaclaire: I think at least half of us are Texans; do we all want to get out of the state or something?

ekscrunchy: I think ira's recommendation was for texstout, the "accomplished" drinker, rather than his sister.

My college-age daughter likes to drink something she can no longer find in the states - Bacardi Breezers. They are low alcohol and come in 8 flavors. She also likes beer that is mixed with lemon/lime soda called a radler in Germany and a shandy in the UK. I'm not sure what it's called in Italy.

For wine, she likes light white wines and her current Italian favorite is a 2003 DOCG Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Order a carafe of house white wine and a bottle of flat or fizzy water. Have your sister mix hers 1/2 and 1/2.

Another nice drink is an Americano, which is Campari, sweet vermouth, and soda.

Wow - I didn't realize that I would get such great advice. My mouth is already watering in anticipation.

Yes- I am another Texan, albeit currently living in Washington DC. :)

People who don't want to or can't drink also live in Italy. They order water with their food. Their companions who drink order half or quarter liters of wine, or wine by the glass.

If I were taking medications, I wouldn't experiment with liquers whose ingredients you don't know. Many, and perhaps most, Italian liquers are made of strong medicinal herbs, which might not mix well with prescription medicine.

If one's mother knows she can have a glass of wine, but just one, she's probably been drinking Italian wine in the US anyway, so there's no difference. Just sticks to the usual whites and reds. (Maybe stay away from Sagrantimo, which 14 percent alchohol).

As for the 18 year old, unless she's driving or walking home alone late at night, what difference does it make if she gets tipsy? She might want to know Italians mildly disapprove of public drunkeness, but as long as one keeps eating while drinking -- not hard to do in Italy! -- getting drunk usually requires a deliberate effort. Stick to ordering small rather than large quantities of wine if there are just two of you.

Statia,

Unless you know what Aperol is made of and that your mother's medications won't be affected by those ingredients, I'd hesitate to order an Aperol spritz for her.

Also to consider is that many Italian liquers that go down like honey -- limoncello pops to mind -- are made in a base of potent heavy-duty alcohol.

Although I have been in English pubs where ordering something non-alcoholic provoked a dismissive sneer, I have never had a problem asking for water with my meals in Italy (I never drink wine or spirits when I'm driving).

nessundorma, you have a good point, which is why I was seeking very light drinks. She will probably stick to her usual "watered down a bit wine" and only have a taste of anything else that my sister and I order. She does know her limitations, but it's better safe than sorry. Thanks.

I think she's just bummed that on this trip she can't partake in her pre-illness cocktails. ;) And,I know she would love to try some of the local poisons, but we will watch it very closely.

Hi Budman
<It's the additional sulfites that are added as preservatives that can be a problem for many people - eg, cause headaches.>

ira, where did you get this?

At a number of wine tastings that my physician friend and I have attended.

We always ask about the amount of sulfites added.

He agrees that they can cause headaches.

Anecdotal evidence: My SIL, who can't drink wine in the US because it gives her headaches, has no problem drinking wine in Germany, France and Italy.

I admit that this is not good epidemiology. Shall we write a grant proposal? :)

((I))

OK, Ira, that makes more sense of what I was told at the wine tasting.
Thanks!

LCBonitit: Thanks for posting that link. Just for clarification, you can indeed purchase wines with no sulfites. Organic wine. I just had some last week.

In the link you posted, right above "Sulfites do not produce headaches", it states, "There are a few (very few) winemakers who make wines without adding sulfites.  In the US, organic wine must be made without added sulfites.  These are unusual because the wine is very perishable and often have unusual aromas from the aldehydes that are normally bound and rended aroma-less by the sulftes. Look for these wines at natural food stores."

So there may be some naturally occurring sulfites in organic wine, but at least they don't add any like all the other wines.

I sometimes drink dry martini (vermouth) with sprite. Anything with a lot of mixer should be ok. Also, alternating alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks may work.
Carolena

Ira, I will virtually guarantee that the reason your wife does not have headaches has nothing to do with a lower concentration of sulfites in the wine she drinks overseas. Most likely, she is consuming wine with more food in Europe and perhaps engaging in more physical activity while traveling. I have already belabored this far too long but I feel like correcting all of these erroneous notions as best I can. Headaches come from the alcohol in wine! At wine tastings, by the way, we usually spit!

Hey, if the headaches are really getting you down, skip the vino, and remember one of my important mottos from my last trip.

"You'll never be sorry
with another Campari!"
((H))

Hi ek,
>Why in the world is Valpolicella "good for beginners?" This is an often superb wine....<

Because it is **usually** a very light, fruity, slightly fizzy wine.

I agree that there are very good wines from the Valpolicella region - Amarone being the best of them.

((I))