A wine window, also known as "buchette del vino" in Italian, is a small opening built into the walls of some local nobles palaces in Florence, Italy. These windows have been used for hundreds of years to sell wine in a fiasco (glass bottle) without having to open a shop and avoid paying taxes. The wine windows are typically set within a stone frame with a small wooden door that is used for the direct sale of wine. They are about 23 cm wide and 36 cm in height, or about 9 in × 14 in.
The wine windows also posed a useful anti-contagion way to sell wine during the epidemic of 1630-1633. During the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, some restaurants, bars, and gelaterias began reusing these ancient buchette del vino to sell their products, just like 400 years ago.
Today, there are over 150 documented wine windows in Florence and at least another hundred throughout the region. Some of the wine windows are still used to sell wine, while others have been repurposed to sell other products such as Italian gelato, coffee, and even food. If you want to experience the traditional way of ordering your glass of wine through a wine window, you can visit some of the bars and restaurants that still use them, such as Babae, Belle Donne, and DiVin Boccone.
