While we were on our Honeymoon in Italy, the Aperol Spritz was my go-to drink, especially in Venice.

One of my favorite films that takes place (in part) in Venice is the 2008 version of “Brideshead Revisited,” so that’s the pairing for this week.

This vegan, gluten-free cocktail recipe makes 1 “serving.”

Ingredients
0.5 cups ice
4 ounces Aperol
187 milliliters prosecco
0.5 ounces (a.k.a. a splash) soda water
1 orange slice (optional)

Instructions
Put the ice in a glass.

Pour the Aperol, prosecco and soda water over the top. Stir a bit.

It is typical to garnish your glass with an orange slice, but raw orange peels can make my tongue numb, so I generally skip that one when I make an Aperol Spritz at home.

Serve and enjoy with “Brideshead Revisited!”

The Easy Route
If you can find a premade Aperol Spritz at the store or live in an area where one can be made for delivery or takeout, please drop those details in the comments.

The Pairing
“Brideshead Revisited” is a movie about a rather complicated British love triangle with a social climber, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), at the center.

While studying at Oxford in the 1920s, he meets and is enamored with Sebastian (Ben Whishaw), a child of the British aristocracy.

They spend a beautiful summer together at Sebastian’s family estate, known as Brideshead, with Sebastian’s sister Julia (Hayley Atwell) also hanging around.

Charles and Sebastian giggling together and kissing as they drink copious amounts of wine is one of my favorite moments in film. And it’s also why I knew a wine cocktail would be a fantastic pairing for “Brideshead Revisited.”

The glorious British summer is cut short when Sebastian’s very strict, super religious mother (Emma Thompson) shows up.

Sebastian brings Charles as he flees his mother’s clutches and goes to Venice, with Julia tagging along as well, as they’re visiting their father (Michael Gambon) and his mistress (Greta Scacchi).

The film continues to follow Charles and his interactions with the family over the course of two decades. Things do get rather complicated as Charles and Julia develop feelings for each other.

I adore absolutely everything about this movie, starting with the mesmerizing breakout performances by Goode, Whishaw and Atwell. All three of them are favorites of mine now, and it all started when I saw this movie for the first time in theaters.

Of course the story is captivating as well, and filmmaker Julian Jarrold does a superb job bringing it to life.

If you decide to make an Aperol Spritz and/or watch “Brideshead Revisited,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes

This is part one of our five-part Honeymoon in Italy series. The others:
Part 2: “Roman Holiday” + Supplì
Part 3: “Searching for Italy” + Potato Quinoa Pizza
Part 4 coming August 17
Part 5 coming August 24