In short, aperitivo — to be had from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — is for everyone and it is everywhere — north and south, cities and holiday resorts, among millennials and, most interestingly, their parents (the grandparents never gave it up).

Italy this summer is one vast bar. Twenty-somethings are discussing their favorite drinks, having wine with their meals and staying away from clubs, which are now in decline. As a result of this trend toward home-based socializing, fatal car accidents involving young people are less frequent. Millennials are drinking more, admittedly, but are driving less under its influence.

Aperitivo has also become the new mainstay of Italian public life. It offers several advantages in restaurants and social gatherings. It doesn’t commit dates, or groups of friends, to spending the whole evening together. It is reasonably priced (from 5 to 10 euros). And it comes in different formats. There is aperitivo rinforzato (enhanced aperitivo), in which drinks, for a little extra money, come with some food; and apericena (aperitivo-cena, or aperitif-with-dinner), in which the drink comes with more food. Young Italians talk increasingly about food pairing (gin and tonic, apparently, goes well with tuna carpaccio). Our older British and American visitors often resent this. They claim aperitifs are to be had straight up, to get the full benefit of their alcoholic punch. They forget that we Italians, as a rule, don’t aim to get drunk; we just want to spend time happily together.

Certain drinks are more popular than others. Prosecco has become the hallmark of late afternoons, just as cappuccino is a must in the mornings (after 11 a.m., Italians consider it immoral, and after a meal, all but illegal). Prosecco is everywhere: a form of liquid democracy that brings together different generations and introduces residents to newcomers. It is also the base for spritz, a widely popular aperitif that originated in the region around Venice. It consists of prosecco, Aperol or Campari (or lately both), and a dash of soda water (the name comes for the German “Spritzen,” to spray). The Trentino region and Franciacorta, in Lombardy, produce an upmarket and much better sparkling wine, but the main brands — Ferrari, Bellavista, Ca’ Del Bosco, Berlucchi — failed to find a common name for it (they’re not allowed to use “champagne,” which France would never surrender), and so they failed to achieve the global dominance of prosecco.

Does that leave contemporary Italy a spritz society based on prosecco populism? Not yet. But not all is quiet on the food and wine front, where Italy is a superpower, alongside France. For sure, more and more politicians pose at their summer outings with a glass in their hand. Where best to witness the newest incarnation of a traditional habit turned modern? Well, you could try Jesolo, which is near Venice and is one of Italy’s busiest seaside resorts, or Milanom Marittima, where Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and populist in chief, recently played disc jockey on the beach with young women in revealing beach garb dancing to the national anthem. Or, perhaps more wisely, you could go to one of the thousands of lively, lovely bars across the cities, beaches, mountains and hills, lake and rivers of Italy.