The Spritz is a wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

-based cocktail

Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...

 commonly served as an aperitif

Aperitif

Apéritifs and digestifs are alcoholic drinks that are normally served with meals.-Apéritifs:An apéritif is usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite. This contrasts with digestifs, which are served after a meal for the purpose of aiding digestion...

 in northern Italy, especially in the Veneto

Veneto

Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...

 region and surrounding areas. The drink is prepared with white wine (generally a Pinot Grigio delle tre Venezie or Tocai) or Prosecco

Prosecco

Prosecco is an Italian white wine — generally a Dry or Extra Dry sparkling wine — normally made from Glera grapes. DOC prosecco is produced in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy, and traditionally mainly in the areas near Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, in the hills...

 wine, a dash of some bitter liqueur such as Aperol

Aperol

Aperol is an Italian aperitif originally produced by the Barbieri company, based in Padua. Aperol is now produced by the Campari company. While Aperol was originally created in 1919, it did not become successful until after World War II...

, Campari

Campari

Campari is an alcoholic apéritif obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a bitters characterized by its dark red color....

, Gran Classico

Gran Classico Bitter

Gran Classico BitterGran Classico Bitter is an alcoholic apéritif/digestif created following the "Italian Bitter of Turin" recipe dating from the 1860s. This recipe, which was originally produced under the name Torino Gran Classico, had been purchased in 1925 from a Turin-based distillery by the...

, Select or Cynar

Cynar

Cynar is an Italian bitter apéritif liqueur made from 13 herbs and plants. Predominant amongst these is the artichoke , from which the drink derives its name...

. The glass is then topped off with sparkling mineral water. It is usually served over ice in a lowball glass (or sometimes a martini glass or wine glass) and garnished a slice of orange, or sometimes an olive, depending on the liqueur. Another variation of the drink uses champagne with the liqueur rather than wine. The drink originated in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 while it was part of the Austrian Empire

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

, and is based on the Austrian Spritzer

Spritzer

A spritzer is a tall, chilled drink, usually made with white wine and seltzer or club soda.-Origin and variations:Spritzer is derived from the variant of the German language spoken in Austria, where the drink is very popular. It is used alongside the equally common form Gespritzter A spritzer is a...

, a combination of equal parts white wine and soda water. More recently it became the traditional drink of the students of the University of Padua

University of Padua

The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...

. In recent years it has also become extremely popular in southern Germany

Southern Germany

The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...

, with Aperol

Aperol

Aperol is an Italian aperitif originally produced by the Barbieri company, based in Padua. Aperol is now produced by the Campari company. While Aperol was originally created in 1919, it did not become successful until after World War II...

 as the aperitif of choice in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 and Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

.