Venetian Spritz (Spritz Veneziano)
Venice's beloved bittersweet aperitif: cold prosecco, Aperol or Select, and a splash of soda water over plenty of ice, finished with an orange slice. Bright, fizzy and dangerously easy to make at home.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Chill everything first
Keep the prosecco, Aperol (or ), soda water and even the glass itself in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. A properly cold stays fizzy and bright instead of turning watery as the ice melts.
- 90 ml (3 oz) prosecco
- 60 ml (2 oz) Aperol
- 30 ml (1 oz) soda water
✅ Done when: the bottles and the glass feel properly cold to the touch
Fill the glass with ice
Use a large wine glass or the classic short tumbler used all over Venice, and fill it right to the top with ice. Filling it generously before adding any liquid keeps the drink cold without watering it down too fast.
- plenty ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glass is packed full of ice to the brim
Pour the prosecco
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Add the Aperol or Select
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Top with soda water
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Garnish and serve
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Chill everything first
Keep the prosecco, Aperol (or ), soda water and even the glass itself in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. A properly cold stays fizzy and bright instead of turning watery as the ice melts.
- 90 ml (3 oz) prosecco
- 60 ml (2 oz) Aperol
- 30 ml (1 oz) soda water
✅ Done when: the bottles and the glass feel properly cold to the touch
Fill the glass with ice
Use a large wine glass or the classic short tumbler used all over Venice, and fill it right to the top with ice. Filling it generously before adding any liquid keeps the drink cold without watering it down too fast.
- plenty ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glass is packed full of ice to the brim
Pour the prosecco
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Add the Aperol or Select
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Top with soda water
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Garnish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
The spritz began under Austrian rule in the Veneto, when soldiers and officials found the local still wines too strong and asked for them to be 'splashed' (spritzen, in Austrian German) with soda water to lighten them. Over the following decades, Venetians added their own bitter liqueurs to the mix, turning a simple diluted wine into something more complex.
Prosecco eventually replaced the still wine, and Aperol, created in the Veneto in the early 20th century, became the most popular bittersweet addition, with the drier Select remaining the choice of many locals.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It's the drink of the Venetian ritual of the 'giro di ombre', hopping between bars for a small glass of wine or a spritz with cicchetti (little snacks); bright orange, bubbly and sociable, it has become one of Italy's most popular aperitivo exports.
💡 Fun Fact
Venice has its own quiet rivalry over the 'right' spritz: ask for one in a backstreet bacaro and you may well get it made with Select instead of Aperol, with locals insisting their bitter is the original.
Venice
45.44°N, 12.32°E
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