The non-alcoholic spritz

The spritz is a formula more than a single recipe. The version most people picture is the Aperol spritz: three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda. Swap the Aperol for Campari and you get a Campari spritz, which is redder and more bitter. Use an Italian bitter soda like Crodino and you get the lighter drink you'll see on bar tables all over northern Italy.

Every spritz has three jobs to do:

• The bitter sets the style. Orange and gentle (Aperol-style), red and bracing (Campari-style) or herbal and floral. It's also where most of the sugar lives.
• The sparkling wine gives acidity, dryness and the fizz. In a real spritz it also brings most of the alcohol.
• The soda stretches it out and keeps it refreshing. It's the cheapest way to cut sweetness.

A non-alcoholic spritz has to do the same, minus the alcohol. That means:

• Choose a dry sparkling wine. This matters more than anything. A brut-style alcohol-free wine keeps the drink crisp. A sweet one doubles up on the sugar already in the bitter.
• Add more soda if it tastes sweet. Moving from 3-2-1 to 3-2-2 is the fastest fix there is.
• Use a lot of ice. Fill the glass. More ice means a colder drink that dilutes more slowly, not a watery one.
• Build it in the glass, don't shake. Pour the sparkling wine first so the bitter mixes in without stirring the bubbles away.

This is the quickest way to choose. Here's every spritz-friendly aperitivo in our catalogue, roughly in order from gentle to bracing.

Soft and fruity. Figlia Sole (peach, Meyer lemon, black tea and white pepper) and Ghia Berry Apéritif (dark berry, tart fruit and only a faint bitter finish) are the least bitter bottles here. They're good for people who don't like bitter drinks yet, but they won't taste like a classic spritz.

Floral and light. Martini Floreale is chamomile, wormwood and white flowers, with a clean dry finish. Everleaf Marine is bergamot, saffron and a savory, sea-air note. Both make an elegant, pale spritz, and Floreale is also the best base for a Hugo-style drink. Gnista Floral Wormwood is fuller and more bitter, with green herbs, citrus and a wormwood edge; it sits closer to a full-bodied aperitif than a gin.

Orange and bittersweet (the Aperol style). Lyre's Italian Spritz is built to stand in for Aperol, with bright orange, rhubarb and a gentle bitterness. Martini Vibrante (bergamot, bitter orange, chamomile) is the easiest to find in stores. Wilfred's Bittersweet Aperitif leans on orange and rosemary, with clove. Crodino is the classic little Italian bottle: orange, cardamom and clove, lightly fizzy.

Red and bitter (the Campari style). Lyre's Italian Orange has blood orange, rhubarb and gentian, and it's the most direct Campari stand-in. Lapo's Aperitivo adds hibiscus and rhubarb root to Italian orange and gentian. Ritual Aperitif Alternative is orange blossom, rhubarb and charred grapefruit. Fluere Bitter has a long quinine bitterness with orange zest and juniper. Figlia Fiore is rose, bitter orange and clove.

Properly bitter. Ghia Le Apéritif (gentian, yuzu, fig, rosemary) and Sanbittèr are the most bitter spritz options in the catalogue. Ghia is less sweet than the Lyre's bottles, so it makes the driest, most adult spritz of the lot.

If you just want a spritz, there's a good choice of cans and bottles now, and they cover most of the family.

• Ghia Le Spritz is Ghia and soda in a can: bitter, dry and not very sweet. It's the one to buy if you like your spritz on the bitter side. Ghia also makes flavored versions: Blood Orange is the closest of the cans to a classic orange spritz, Ghia-Ginger is sharper and warmer, Lime & Salt is tart and savory, and Sumac & Chili has a warm chili edge.
• Lyre's Amalfi Spritz is Lyre's Italian Spritz topped with bubbles in a can. It's bittersweet orange and rhubarb, and a good pick for an Aperol-spritz fan.
• De Soi Spritz Italiano is a canned Aperol-style spritz of bitter orange, white grape and gentian, with added adaptogens.
• Curious Elixirs No. 4 is a blood orange spritz made with non-alcoholic prosecco, bittersweet and lightly fizzy.
• Figlia Fiore Frizzante is Fiore with bubbles and extra lemon: floral and bitter.
• Casamara Club Sera is a dry spritz-style soda of grapefruit, cinnamon, rhubarb root and chinotto, tart up front with a warm finish.
• Mocktail Club Capri Spritz is pomegranate and cranberry shrub with lemongrass and a little gentian, so it's fruitier than most.

Pour any of them over a full glass of ice with a slice of orange. A splash of non-alcoholic sparkling wine over the top makes a can taste more like a proper spritz.

Before bottled zero-proof aperitifs existed, Italy already had its own. Crodino and Sanbittèr are the small bitter sodas that Italian bars keep in the fridge. Each comes in a 100 ml bottle that's one serve.

Sanbittèr vs Crodino: Sanbittèr, from Sanpellegrino, is ruby red, the more bitter of the two, with bitter herbs and orange peel. It's the closer match for a Campari soda. Crodino is golden orange and a little rounder, with orange, cardamom and clove. It sits closer to an Aperol spritz. Both are lightly carbonated and bittersweet.

To make a Crodino spritz, pour a bottle over ice, top it with non-alcoholic prosecco and add a splash of soda and an orange slice. It's one of the cheapest good spritzes you can make.

The aperitivo

For a classic orange spritz, start with Lyre's Italian Spritz. If that's too sweet, split it with a little Ghia Le Apéritif. For a non-alcoholic Campari spritz, use Lyre's Italian Orange or Lapo's Aperitivo. If you want the most bitter result, use Ghia Le Apéritif on its own.

The sparkling wine

This is where most non-alcoholic spritzes go wrong. Some alcohol-removed sparkling wines are noticeably sweet, and they make the whole drink taste sugary.

• Mionetto Alcohol-Removed Sparkling is made from Glera, the prosecco grape. It's the closest cheap stand-in for prosecco, with peach and apple, but it's a little sweet. Pair it with a bitter aperitivo.
• Surely Sparkling Brut is dry with full acidity and a hint of honey. It's the one we reach for with sweeter aperitivos.
• Bolle Blanc de Blancs is dry and toasty, with very little sugar. It gives the drink a more wine-like edge.
• Noughty Sparkling Chardonnay is bone-dry and crisp with green apple.
• TÖST Sparkling White Tea isn't wine at all, but it's dry, with a little ginger, and it's lovely on top of a bitter spritz.
• Gruvi Dry Secco comes in single-serve bottles, which is handy when you want one spritz and not a half-flat bottle in the fridge.

The soda

Plain soda water or seltzer is traditional. Use it cold, from a freshly opened bottle. Tonic makes a spritz sweeter and adds a quinine bitterness, which suits Wilfred's in particular.

Our house spritz is built on Ghia and sparkling tea. It's bitter, dry and good with salty snacks.

For a red, Campari-style spritz, use this one. It has more soda than an Aperol spritz so the bitterness comes through:

And for the easiest, cheapest option there is, the Crodino spritz:

If any of these taste too sweet, add another ounce of soda before you change anything else.

The spritz is a family, and each branch has its own guide.

• Aperol spritz. The orange classic. Our Aperol spritz guide compares every Aperol alternative and ready-made can.
• Hugo spritz. Elderflower, mint, lime and prosecco. Lighter, floral and not bitter at all. See the Hugo spritz guide.
• Sbagliato. A Negroni with sparkling wine in place of gin. It's a spritz with vermouth, and more bitter. See the sbagliato guide.
• Americano. Bitter and vermouth topped with soda, no wine. See the Americano guide.
• Limoncello spritz. Not bitter at all: Pallini Limonzero, a sweet zero-proof limoncello, topped with dry sparkling wine and soda.
• Wilfred's spritz. Orange and rosemary topped with a dry blanc de blancs:

A spritz is one of the easiest zero-proof drinks for a bar to add, and plenty of places now pour one. These are worth the trip: