If you’re having dinner at a restaurant in Italy, you might be surprised to find that your server clears away your wine glass along with your other dishes when you’ve finished eating. Don’t worry: this isn’t a sign that it’s time to stop drinking. On the contrary, it simply means that it’s time to move on from the wine you enjoyed with your meal to a delicious new beverage category: after-dinner drinks.
The Italian tradition of after-dinner drinks is a clear demonstration of how much Italians love to linger at the table. Typically, after-dinner drinks fall into one of two categories: wines and drinks that you can enjoy with your dessert, and wines and drinks that are sipped on when dessert is over. Read on for a look at some of the most common—and delicious—beverages that Italians like to enjoy when the main meal is over.
Wines and drinks to enjoy with dessert
To accompany the dessert course, Italians usually choose sweet or fortified wines, which stand up well to the inherent sweetness of most desserts (regular wines tend not to play so well with sugary foods). Popular choices in this category include:
Passito—Taking its name from the Italian verb “appassire,” which means “to dry out,” passito is a type of sweet wine that is made from partially dried grapes. Grapes can be dried after harvesting or simply by leaving them on the vine; as they dry out, the sugars become more concentrated, resulting in a sweeter wine that ranges in color from rich gold to deep amber. Different types of grapes, red and white alike, can be used to make passito, but the most commonly used varieties are aromatic white grapes such as Malvasia. Passito is a delicious accompaniment to any dessert, but it also pairs particularly well with rich blue cheese, making it an ideal choice if you’re opting for a cheese course rather than a sweet dessert.
Vin santo—Made using the same method that produces passito, vin santo is a sweet dessert wine that is especially popular in Tuscany, where it’s traditionally served with small crunchy cookies known as cantuccini. (Fun fact: “vin santo” literally means “holy wine.”)
Marsala—This famous fortified wine from Sicily is popular throughout Italy and around the world. Made exclusively with Sicilian grape varietals, Marsala is fortified with a stronger alcohol such as brandy or a neutral grape spirit; its distinctive dark color comes from cooked grape must. Note that if you’d like to sip on some Marsala with your dessert, it’s best to choose a high-quality variety (there are many lower caliber versions available, but these are used primarily for cooking).
Asti Spumante—If you’d like a lighter drink with your dessert, why not pop open a bottle of Asti Spumante? This sweet, sparking white wine from Italy’s Piedmont region boasts a moderate alcohol content (typically between 7% and 9.5%), and a pleasant level of effervescence. Asti Spumante is usually served in shallow, bowl-shaped glasses rather than in thinner champagne flutes, which are thought to over-exaggerate the drink’s sweetness. While Asti Spumante can be enjoyed year-round, it’s most popular during the holiday season alongside panettone, the yeasted cake which is its traditional partner.
Wines and drinks to enjoy after dessert
After you’ve had your dessert, your dessert wine, and your espresso, it’s time for one last drink: a digestivo. The grand finale of any indulgent Italian meal, a digestivo helps settle the stomach and aids digestion, and prolongs the enjoyable social experience of dining. Digestivi have mid to high levels of alcohol, they are often bitter (but can be sweet), and they are usually served neat and at room temperature, or perhaps with just one ice cube. Common Italian digestivi include:
Grappa—Have you ever wondered what becomes of the mass of grape solids—the skins, stems, and seeds—that remain after grapes are pressed to make wine? The answer is grappa, one of Italy’s favorite digestivi. Made from what is known as grape marc or pomace, grappa is a fragrant, highly alcoholic spirit that comes in a range of ages and styles. The best examples of grappa are made from a single grape varietal, and are aged for as much as 20 years before drinking. Grappa is usually served in small, tulip-shaped glasses, and can sometimes be added to an espresso to make a caffe corretto.
Amaro—Literally meaning “bitter,” amaro is the umbrella term for a large category of bittersweet, often herbal, digestivi. Made by aromatizing alcohol with various herbs, spices, roots, fruits, and other natural extracts, amaro has been popular since the Middle Ages, when it was created by monks as a medicinal remedy. Today, you can find hundreds of different types of amaro all around Italy, as each region, town, and even village usually has its own special variety (for which the recipe is a closely guarded secret).