Start it right APERITIFS

Nothing wrong with kicking off your meal with a simple glass of fizz – but there are many more creative options to consider. We explore the art of the aperitif with inspired ideas for your next gathering, whether a low-key lunch or an indulgent celebration

- KATE HAWKINGS

Simply put, an aperitif is something lovely to drink before we eat. It may be a G&T at a bar after work, Champagne before a glitzy lunch, a killer pre-dinner Martini, or just a humble glass of wine with a packet of salted nuts at home. Aperitifs take many forms but all provide a very pleasing moment in a drinker’s day.

As with so many things, we have the ancient Romans to thank for the concept of the aperitif. Before embarking on their epic feasts, they’d drink wine mixed with wormwood, a bitter herb thought to aid digestion and cure all manner of gastric ills.

Indeed, the word aperitif derives from the Latin verb aperire, meaning ‘to open’, and has been in use since at least the 5th century. An aperitif is something to open the appetite, stimulate digestion and get us in the mood for a meal that’s to come.

Alcohol itself clears the palate by effectively rinsing pore-clogging molecules from the surface of our tongues, and encourages digestion-aiding salivation. Bubbles in the form of sparkling wine or a fizzy mixer can have the same effect, while the bitterness found in so many aperitifs is known to release hormones that sharpen our hunger.

But an aperitif is more than just a drink; it’s an occasion in itself, and one that’s particularly European. In 18th-century Turin, the court of King Victor Amadeus III eschewed rosolio (a traditional rose-scented liqueur) and embraced the first commercially produced vermouth (whose defining ingredient is the Artemisia wormwood family of plants) as their daily aperitivo. This modish custom of socialising with pre-dinner drinks was widely adopted across the continent and endures to this day.