What does bellini mean?
A bellini is an elegant Italian cocktail combining chilled prosecco with white peach purée or juice, traditionally served in a flute glass as an aperitif. It originated at Harry's Bar in Venice in the 1930s–40s and was named by the bar's founder, Giuseppe Cipriani, for the Venetian Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini, whose depiction of a saint's robe in a rose-to-white gradient reminded him of the drink's color. The word is written lowercase when referring to the cocktail and capitalized when referring to the painter or his paintings. Today the bellini is strongly associated with celebration, luxury, and leisure — brunches, weddings, hotel bars — though it requires no great skill to make. Its closest relative is the mimosa, which substitutes orange juice for peach. The name has also come to stand for refined simplicity, a drink whose two-ingredient formula belies its glamorous reputation.
A cocktail consisting of prosecco mixed with white peach purée or juice, served cold, typically as an aperitif.
"He raised his bellini in a toast to the newlyweds."
Always lowercase in this sense.
A painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, or a work in his style.
"The museum recently attributed the small Madonna panel to Bellini himself."
Capitalized in this sense; used mainly in art-historical contexts.
Regular English plural; the plural refers to multiple cocktails (or, less commonly, multiple paintings).
"Two bellinis and a plate of oysters, please."
The bellini was invented at Venice's legendary Harry's Bar in the 1930s–40s, and its founder named it after the painter Giovanni Bellini because the drink's rosy hue reminded him of a saint's robe in one of the artist's canvases — only later did pure prosecco and white peaches become the standard recipe.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bellini
The word bellini comes from the Italian surname Bellini, famously borne by the fifteenth-century Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, created the cocktail in the 1930s or early 1940s and named it after the painter because the pinkish glow of the drink recalled the color of a saint's robe in one of Bellini's canvases. The surname itself derives from the Latin root bellus, meaning beautiful, the same source that gives English words like beauty and belle.
How bellini is actually used
Lowercase when referring to the cocktail; capitalized when referring to the painter or his works. Considered elegant and celebratory in register, often served at brunches, weddings, and formal receptions.
Easily confused with bellini
A mimosa mixes sparkling wine with orange juice, whereas a bellini uses white peach purée.
The cocktail is named after Giovanni Bellini, but 'a Bellini' in art-historical contexts refers to a painting by him, not a drink.