Italy has long been famous for its exquisite wines, liqueurs and vermouths, and here everyone will find a drink to their liking.

Pay attention to Italian liqueurs, which have long gained world fame. The most famous and oldest of them is Amaretto liqueur. The appearance of this liqueur is associated with a beautiful legend, of course about love. Translated from Italian, love (amore), which echoes the name of the liqueur. Another famous Italian liqueur, Galliano, has a complex recipe that includes up to 40 berries, flowers and herbs, anise, vanilla and Henkel. Rossolini liqueur, which translates as “sunny dew,” is made from rose petals and wild oranges. Any Italian liqueur will be an excellent gift for your colleagues, because you can drink it as an aperitif or add it to cocktails or coffee.

The ancient city of Marsala, located in the west of the island of Sicily, is famous for its wine of the same name Marsala. This wine was produced in 1773, and the distinctive feature of the wine is its strength and sweet taste. In terms of its composition, this is a blended wine with complex technology and a very bright, incomparable taste. Another interesting forty-two-proof Italian sweet alcoholic drink is Sambuca. This drink is infused with anise with the addition of elderberries. Sambuca differs from other alcoholic drinks in the originality of its use. It is very often set on fire and drunk hot, spooned into a glass of coffee beans, drunk with ice water, or added to coffee instead of sugar.

Italy is also famous for its Vermouth, which is made by adding herbal infusions to grape wine. The main extract is wormwood, as well as thyme, cinnamon, yarrow, mint and black elderberry.

Dry white Italian wine Marca Oro, produced by the famous Valdo winery, can be a wonderful gift for women. This wine has a unique aroma and a very soft, elegant taste. First of all, this wine is suitable for fish and seafood. It is also worth paying attention to the dry red wine Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany. It is produced in limited quantities and aged for at least 5 years. This wine is suitable for famous Italian cheeses and meat dishes.

You can please your male colleagues with Italian brandy Vecchia Romagna Etichetta Nera or Vecchia Romadna Classic. And buy Grappa from brands such as Di Verdicchio Stravecchia or Berta.

Italy has a huge selection of excellent quality alcoholic drinks and you can bring worthy gifts from this country for your colleagues.

Your vacation in Italy will end very quickly, but real Italian souvenirs will help you keep pleasant memories of your vacation for a long time. What to buy? The priority is edible and alcoholic souvenirs.

What alcohol should I bring from Italy? Simple advice: try, buy and take home only those drinks that you liked during your trip.

Even if you are not a fan of alcoholic drinks, grab a couple of bottles to please your friends and loved ones.

Popular alcoholic Italian gifts

TOP10 alcoholic souvenirs from Italy:

• Wine – from €1 and above. The price should not bother you: wine in Italy is indeed very cheap, but always of the highest taste and quality. Among the huge number of its types, you can get confused, so choose from the most famous - Chianti, Barbera, Grignolino, Brunelto di Montalcino, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Nero d'Avola, Barbaresco and others.
• Martini - famous vermouth from €5 per 500 ml bottle. If you need a present from Italy for a woman, pay attention to the champagne of the same name - Martini Asti.
• Limoncello is a sweet lemon-based liqueur with a strength of 25-30%. This national alcoholic drink leaves no one indifferent, so feel free to purchase a second bottle as a gift. From €15 for a volume of 0.7 l.
• Amaretto is another popular liqueur with the aroma of almonds and a strength of 21-28%. The dark brown liqueur has an original taste, much like marzipan.
• Campari is a red bitter liqueur infused with Italian fruits and aromatic herbs. The drink is not for everybody, so buy it only if you are sure that you will like such a gift. From €20 for a volume of 0.7 l.
• Grappa vodka is an excellent Italian souvenir for men. There are several types of this grape vodka, differing in the aging period - Giovane, Affinata in legno, Invecchiata. From €20 for a volume of 0.5 l.
• Montenegro is a bittersweet liqueur with a spicy taste.
• Sambuca is a kind of fruit vodka made with anise.
• Nocino is a national Italian alcoholic drink infused with walnuts. The real pride of the Neapolitans, so such an Italian gift will be appropriate if you visit Naples.
• Vecchia Romagna is a brandy with a beautiful amber color and fruity aroma. The famous Italian cognac is made from the best grape varieties and is therefore not cheap, so Vecchia Romagna is a gift for the people you care about most.

This is not a complete list of what alcohol to bring from Italy and what you can enjoy during your vacation. As you can see, traditional alcoholic Italian souvenirs can be divided into several types - wine, liqueur, vodka, cognac.

Due to the fact that there are restrictions on the export of alcoholic beverages from Italy, you have to make a difficult choice which is better and what is preferable to buy as a pleasant reminder of the amazing southern European country.

Let's make your choice easier. Let's look at some alcoholic souvenirs from Italy in detail. If everything is more or less clear with wine or vermouth, then Chianti, limoncello, grappa, Campari are still wonders for us, and in order to buy alcohol as Italian gifts you will have to puff.

Limoncello - a traditional Italian gift

This is just the drink when you doubt what alcohol to bring from Italy. All Italians will say that lemon liqueur is the most common among them. Yes, limoncello cannot be called an elite drink, but this makes a bottle of Limonchello an even more colorful present.

It's very simple: limoncello is just alcohol that is infused with lemons (or even peels) with added sugar. A natural product from the south of the Apennine Peninsula, the strength of which is within 30%. The bottles have an original design, thanks to which democratic alcohol turns into the most unique alcoholic souvenir from Italy.

Important! In order not to be disappointed in the drink, limoncello must be consumed correctly. Liqueur should be chilled and should only be poured into cold glasses. Don't forget that warm limoncello has an unpleasant specific taste!

Campari is not a liqueur for everyone

There are several types of this drink (liqueur or vermouth), depending on the strength, but real Campari is always red. Campari is popular and can be bought in any large Italian supermarket.

Many people are hesitant to purchase it because of the relatively high price, so it makes sense to first try the liqueur somewhere in a cafe to understand its bitter taste.

Attention! According to reviews, the first use of Campari can cause disappointment among tourists, so it is advisable to repeat the tasting in order to fully decide whether such an alcoholic Italian souvenir is suitable for you or not.

Chianti – for true connoisseurs of dry wines

If among your friends there are lovers of dry wines, they will definitely like Chianti for its pleasant tart taste. There are many types of this red wine, differing in both recipe and composition, but it should always contain Sangiovese grapes.

Chianti comes from the Italian province of Tuscany. In the cities of Pisa, Florence or Siena you can find the richest assortment of dry red wines with the least likelihood of purchasing a fake.

Attention! Real Chianti is always marked: the bottle is marked with a black rooster in a red circle. This serves as proof that the original recipe was followed during production. In Italy, everything is strict - if there is a sign, then you can trust.

Pot-bellied bottles of popular wine look rich, although such an alcoholic Italian souvenir is relatively inexpensive. The cost of real Chianti in Italy is about 10 euros, but you can find it cheaper in a small shop where there are no foreign tourists.

It should be noted that Italy has a lot of wines and it is not at all necessary to buy Chianti just because it is so famous. In Tuscany there is a wine for every taste and especially a lot of sweet and semi-sweet wines. But do not forget that many new wines have appeared here only for the sake of tourist demand and this will no longer be a real alcoholic gift from Italy.

Grappa – to buy or not?

A little strange Italian drink, which the locals call wine, but how can you call something that has an alcohol content of 40% or more wine? Grappa is a real grape vodka, the history of which indicates the entrepreneurial spirit of Italian winemakers.

A little history. During the production of wine, mountains of grape waste were formed, which could still be used somehow. This is how elementary moonshine appeared. There are many varieties of vodka: the only difference is how long the drink was aged in barrels before bottling.

It turns out that, technically, this is more cognac than vodka, and certainly not wine. Which grappa is better? Obviously, the longer the aging, the better the drink. Vodka can be clear, light brown, or even dark.

Do you need such alcoholic souvenirs from Italy? It's debatable, since it's just expensive vodka that doesn't have any unique taste properties. Grappa is associated only with Italy, so such a gift may well be possible, but let it be a very small souvenir.

Standards for exporting alcohol from Italy

The country's customs legislation states that “the export of 1 liter of alcoholic beverages with a strength above 22% or 2 liters up to 22% is permitted from the Italian Republic.” This norm is for one traveler.

Experienced tourists will say that they always carry much larger quantities of alcohol from Italy and local customs officers have never stopped them. It is possible that Italian employees are not particularly enthusiastic about their work, but why take the risk?

What to do if you really want to bring alcoholic souvenirs from Italy in larger quantities? To comply with Italian law, purchase alcohol from Duty Free shops at airports, but don't overdo it here either.

Attention! Different countries have their own rules for importing alcohol. For example, one Russian can carry 3 liters of alcohol (without paying customs duties) or 5 liters with payment of duties. In Ukraine, one tourist can count on 5 liters of beer, 2 liters of wine, 1 liter of drinks with an alcohol content of more than 22%.

Wine in Italy it costs about the same as beer. And in the minds of most Italians, these are drinks of the same order. The price of a 0.75 liter bottle is from 1.5 euros.

Moreover, for 1.5 euros you can buy good wine, quite tasty. In Russia, wines of this level are sold for 300-400 rubles. For 4-5 euros per bottle you can buy excellent wine.

There is no upper limit on wine prices. Elite varieties can cost 100-200 euros per bottle or more. There are wines for 500 and 1000 euros, but for them you need to go to a wine boutique, not a supermarket.

Vodka– from 8 euros per liter. An interesting point is that in Italy the most popular bottles are 1 liter, and not 0.5, like ours. Good vodka, such as Smirnoff, Beluga or Stolichnaya, sells for 13-16 euros per liter.

Whiskey– from 8 euros per 0.7 liter bottle. For example, Johnnie Walker Red Label or Ballantine's - 14-16 euros, Jack Daniel's Tennessee - 22-26, Chivas Regal 12 - 25-30.

Grappa- a traditional Italian strong drink. Prices start from 6 euros per 0.7 liter bottle. For grappa, the most common format is 0.7 liters. A bottle of very high-quality grappa in a gift box will cost from 12 euros.

Prices in cafes and restaurants

Italians do not perceive cafes and bars as places to drink alcohol. This results in high prices for alcohol in these establishments.

Italians go to cafes to socialize, play cards, watch news on TV together, and discuss the latest events. And the most popular drink in bars and cafes is cappuccino or espresso coffee, which costs from 0.5 to 1.5 euros.

The cafe has two price lists. The first is called “al tavoto” - this is the price for a drink if you drink at a table. The second is called “al banko” - this is the price if you drink at the bar. The same glass of beer can cost 2 euros at the counter and 5 euros at the table.

In the photo next to you can see the price difference using coffee as an example. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Approximate prices in Italian cafes and bars:

A glass of beer 0.33 at the counter - from 2 to 4 euros, at a table - from 4 to 8;

A glass of wine at the counter - from 1.5 to 3 euros, at a table - from 4 to 8;

A bottle of wine at the counter - from 8 to 12 euros, at a table - from 10 to 20;

Alcoholic cocktails – from 5 to 10 euros.

Drinking alcohol in a cafe in Italy is not a cheap pleasure. Italians themselves prefer to drink at home.

– a country of great wine-making traditions. Historians claim that it was here that the alchemist monk Valentius, for the first time in Western Europe, discovered an extraordinary elixir that could restore youth, strength and enthusiasm. Thus, by distilling fermentation substances, strong alcohol was obtained. Alcohol in Italy is something!

Italians could be called the most drinking nation, if not for one “but”. They drink mainly wine. Moreover, food in no way serves as a snack; rather, on the contrary, alcohol in Italy is drunk for the sole purpose of improving digestion. Therefore, any meal here is not complete without a couple of glasses of light wine. From century to century, unique grape varieties have been nurtured, and the history of winemaking, three millennia long, has allowed this process to be brought to perfection. Moreover, each province became famous for its variety.

Wines, liqueurs, grappa...

Franciacorta is a local champagne produced near Lombardy. Veneto for Amarone is a unique wine, dry, made according to a special recipe by drying grape bunches. Dessert wines from the Veneto province are also famous, which connoisseurs know as Reciotto. The most popular Chianti in the world, born in Tuscany. Well-known brands are not affordable for everyone. Cheap Italian wine can also be of excellent quality if it is aged and natural.

In addition to wines, it can be proud of a variety of liqueurs, on the basis of which many different cocktails have been invented. Since liqueurs are usually drunk as an aperitif, most of them have a slightly bitter taste. It is believed that it promotes good digestion of food.

Special mention should be made of grappa. The history of this strong (up to 50%) alcoholic drink is closely connected with winemaking. After all, it appeared only because it was a pity to throw away various waste from wine production: grape pomace, seeds. At first, grappa was considered a drink of the poor, because its only advantage was quick intoxication. But as the years passed, the process of producing the drink gradually improved. Now some experts believe that Italian grappa is superior in taste even to some wines, the production of which took the best part of the harvest - the juice. And the taste of alcohol, like wine, can be very different and unique. It all depends on the raw materials and aging.

Drinking culture in Italy

In Italy, as in any other country, drinking in the morning is considered bad manners. And consume too much too. Locals flock to bars and pubs around lunchtime to enjoy an aperitif, leisurely conversation, or just sit quietly, lost in thought. A glass of light white wine, Campari, vermouth with olives or cookies is appropriate here. Italians have a special passion for orange Aperol. In addition to the low-alcohol (11%) base, it includes cinchona, spices, rhubarb and bitter orange.

And when the bitterness of the aperitif has given the body a signal that food is about to be eaten, the meal itself follows. Even children in Italy are allowed to drink wine with their food.

Ancient traditions prescribe several rules. Under no circumstances should you drink wine like water - in large sips. “Relish” is the right word for an Italian meal. You should hold a small sip of wine in your mouth, feeling the richness of the taste of an excellent drink on the back of your tongue. And first, be sure to enjoy the bouquet of aroma. Alcohol from Italy - for aesthetes!

In the Apennines, it is not customary to drink the rest of the wine when the plate of food is empty. The most correct thing would be to “stretch” the amount of alcohol over the entire lunch or dinner.

Next comes the digestif. Once again, alcohol is consumed exclusively for medical purposes. After all, dessert also requires a special approach. For a digestif, strong drinks are usually served. This could be grappa, dark fortified wines, whiskey. But the amount drunk rarely exceeds 50 g.

The high culture of drinking alcohol in Italy is evidenced by the fact that in Italy it is legal to sell it from the age of 16. And what’s even worse is that there are no sobering stations in the country. A drunk on the street will cause both surprise and contempt - the person does not know how to drink.

What to try? What to buy?

Every year at the end of September a wine festival takes place in Alba. On this day, all of Italy is represented in a huge number of varieties and tastes. More than half a thousand different brands of wine are offered for sampling by cheerful Italians. Try - don't try. But it’s better to stick with something less varied. For example, discover sambuca. This is an anise liqueur that is usually drunk warmed up. Most often it is set on fire directly in the glasses. There is another way to drink the drink - the so-called “sambuca with flies”. Three grains of coffee are placed in a glass as the personification of wealth, health and happiness. Moreover, at the end of drinking, the grains must be chewed.

Tourists often buy Italian alcohol as souvenirs. You can hardly surprise a European with the taste of the same martini or baileys, but beautiful bottles and the original taste of citrus Limoncello, almond Amaretto Disaronno, licorice Laquirizia will be an excellent gift for friends or just a fragrant reminder of.

There are many types of this wine, differing in recipe and composition. Sangiovese grapes are the main ingredient, but do not have to be the only one.

Another interesting alcoholic drink in Italy is grappa. Many people call it wine, but it’s not like that, you’ll agree, calling a drink with a strength of 40 degrees and above wine is a stretch. This is grape vodka, which was born more for economic reasons than to please alcohol connoisseurs.

There are many fans of cognac, whiskey or brandy in the world. But we have never seen fans of drinking grappa with our own eyes. It's logical. Prices for this drink start at 20 euros, but there are no unique taste qualities to be found. From our point of view, grappa can only be considered as an exotic souvenir; buy a small bottle just to try it.

Limoncello- This is a lemon liqueur, very popular among the Italians themselves. This is a fairly strong drink, the alcohol content is usually 30 percent.

The prices for this liqueur are quite “democratic”, from 15 euros per 0.7 liter bottle. Interesting taste and colorful appearance make limoncello an excellent gift from Italy. We recommend buying a bottle.

Liquor campari is one of the “calling cards” of Italian alcohol production. Few Russians drank this drink, but almost all readers recognize the label. This label was one of the symbols of Western life for many residents of the USSR, a symbol of the dream of a beautiful existence for the inhabitants of Europe. However, any beautiful labels of alcoholic drinks were similar symbols back then.

In Italy, Campari prices start at 20 euros per 0.7 liter bottle. It's not very expensive considering the prices of other alcoholic drinks in the Italian Republic.

Of course, this is not a complete list of wines and liqueurs that you can try and buy in Italy. To fully describe them, you will need not one page on the Internet, but a whole large website. We talked only about the most popular of them. Try, buy and bring home those varieties that suit your taste.

Norms for the export of alcoholic beverages from Italy.

According to the customs legislation of the Italian Republic, the export of 1 liter of alcoholic beverages with a strength above 22 percent, or 2 liters of alcohol up to 22 degrees is allowed. This is the norm for one person.

Of course, Italian customs officers are not very meticulous, Italians generally like to work “carelessly,” but it’s not worth the risk. It is better not to violate these rules, and if you want to bring more alcoholic drinks, you should buy them at the airport in duty free shops.

Do not forget that you can import no more than 3 liters of alcohol into Russia without paying customs duties, and no more than 5 liters with payment of duties per person. Do not overdo it.