What is this a picture of?

A) An old-style wine opener
B) Recycling hole just for wine bottles, only in Italy!
C) The original "hole in the wall"
D) A symbol commonly found on 13th and 14th century homes that announced they were wine drinkers.

ANSWER:
C) The original "hole in the wall"

The saying relating to having a drink at a "hole in the wall" comes from this architectural feature. This one was found on a 14th century building in Florence, Italy.

The servants generally were on the first floor, while the well-to-do families were on the second level of the home. So if I passed by one of these "holes," I could toss in a few coins and be served a glass of wine.

Now, that gives today's wine bars a run for their money.

Here's a photo so you can see how small the "hole" is!