FastItalian LearningSign in
PhrasesAt the BarAvete vini naturali al calice?
B1

Avete vini naturali al calice?

Do you have natural wines by the glass?

Pronunciation

na-tu-RA-li — four syllables, stress on third.

When to use it

In a wine bar ('enoteca') or cocktail bar with a sophisticated wine selection when you want natural wine.

What it means

'Vini naturali' = natural wines — made with minimal intervention, no added sulphites, wild fermentation. This is a growing movement in Italy. 'Al calice' = by the glass. The natural wine bar scene is thriving in Rome, Milan and Florence.

Variations

Avete un'enoteca con naturali?

Do you have a wine bar with naturals?

Asking if the establishment is specifically a natural wine venue

Cosa avete di biodinamico?

What do you have in biodynamic wine?

Biodynamic wine is a step beyond organic — very popular in the Italian natural wine scene

Un orange wine, per favore.

An orange wine, please.

'Orange wine' = white grape wine made with skin contact — an Italian specialty, especially from Friuli

Mini Dialogue

— Avete vini naturali al calice? — Abbiamo sei al calice questa settimana — due bianchi, due rossi e un orange di Friuli. — L'orange di Friuli — mi incuriosisce. — È un Ribolla Gialla con 30 giorni di macerazione.

— Do you have natural wines by the glass? — We have six by the glass this week — two whites, two reds and an orange from Friuli. — The Friuli orange — it intrigues me. — It is a Ribolla Gialla with 30 days of maceration.

Cultural Note

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is the birthplace of the orange wine movement. Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon, winemakers in the Collio area, pioneered skin-contact white wines in the 1980s and inspired a worldwide movement. These amber-coloured wines have complex tannins unusual in white wine.