Half a litre of red wine, please.
MED-zo — the 'zz' is pronounced like 'ts'. LI-tro — stress on first syllable.
Use this in traditional trattorias and osterias where house wine is sold by the carafe rather than by the bottle.
'Mezzo litro' (half litre) is a standard carafe size in Italian casual dining. 'Un litro' is a full litre. 'Un quarto' (a quarter litre) is also common. This ordering style is associated with simple, unpretentious local restaurants.
Un litro di vino della casa.
A litre of house wine.
'Della casa' (of the house) — the cheapest and often most local wine option
Un quarto di vino bianco.
A quarter litre of white wine.
'Quarto' = quarter — good for solo diners
Una caraffa di vino rosso.
A carafe of red wine.
'Caraffa' is the word for the vessel — acceptable alternative
House wine ('vino della casa') in Italy is almost always a decent local wine — not a low-quality product. In regions like Tuscany or Veneto, the house wine can be remarkably good and costs just €3–5 per litre.