Start it right APERITIFS
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
