Want to drink like Da Vinci? Some Italian restaurants are reviving a 17th-century trend of contactless wine windows. 

Back in the early 1600s, wine windows became a popular way to sling vino without paying taxes.

Like a medieval drive-thru, you could roll up to an aristocrat’s cellar wall, drop your coin and grab your fix. 

Then, around 1629, the plague hit Italy hard.

Wine windows, then called ‘Sportellos’, became a safe way to conduct business. 

The thirsty patron would drop coins into a metal slot filled with vinegar for disinfection, then fill their flask with a metal tube that the seller would present through the window.

Pretty sophisticated for a 400-year-old system. 

* We all know someone who loves wine…share this with them! *

Today, several restaurants in Florence have revived the old practice. 

There is even an ice cream shop that is using the contactless method to serve up frozen treats. 

We can only hope this becomes a thing and that wine (and ice cream!) windows are in our countries near future…