Campari and dry white wine in near-equal measure, lengthened with a splash of soda over ice and crowned with an orange wheel, make a low-proof aperitivo that glows red-orange in the glass. Bittersweet and softly fizzy, it sits somewhere between a Spritz and a wine cooler — the Campari's bitter orange edge rounded off by the wine's crisp acidity, easy afternoon drinking by design.
Garnish: Orange Wheel
built · Wine Glass · On the Rocks
build
Fill a wine glass or highball with ice.
add
Pour the Campari and dry white wine over the ice.
top
Top with chilled soda water to taste.
stir
Stir gently to combine.
garnish
Garnish with an orange wheel.
The Bicicletta grew out of Milan's aperitivo culture as a house classic with no documented inventor and no single bar to claim it. Its name rests on folklore about drinkers said to have pedalled home unsteadily after one too many at aperitivo hour, a tale some set among cyclists in 1930s Lombardy. The simple pairing of Campari, dry white wine and soda has carried into modern books, including Stef Ferrari's Stuzzichini and Talia Baiocchi's Spritz.