I’m a wine lover at heart and love a good glass of whatever the weather, season, food and mood call for, but sometimes I like to mix things up (literally) with a cocktail. Here are some of my favorite cocktail recipes that really shine with wine as an added ingredient.
Frosé (frozen rosé) has taken the summer by storm. Any rosé fanatic will fall in love with this blended slushie wine drink. This watermelon frosé recipe makes six drinks and can be done with or without the mint. If you want my opinion, the mint gives it an extra fresh flavor that tastes great.
As every bartender knows, choosing the right glass for your cocktail is a key ingredient. When serving sparkling wine, even in a cocktail, your best bet on a glass choice is a Champagne flute. If you want to get serious and experience the best bubbles possible, rinse your Champagne flutes with hot water before you use them. This will remove any detergent or rinse-aid residue that can cause the bubbles to go flat.
If you serve your bubbly in a shallow, wider bowl wine glass, it has a larger surface area exposed to air, which means both bubbles and aromas dissipate quickly. The V shape of the bottom of the Champagne flute allows the bubbles to more easily gather in the bottom and bounce back up to the top, giving us the intense bubbles that we love in a sparkling wine.
These two blended wine recipes are great to capture the last few weeks of summer sunshine:
Watermelon Frosé
Ingredients:
- 8 cups cubed watermelon, frozen (about 1 small seedless watermelon)
- 3 cups rosé
- 1/2 cup Aperol
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If mixture seems too liquidy, place in freezer for about 15 minutes to freeze into a more slushie-like texture. Garnish with a slice of watermelon and enjoy!
Wine Slushie
Ingredients:
- 2/3 of a bottle of white wine
- 2 cups frozen mangos or peaches
- 2 cups of ice
Instructions:
Blend 2/3 of a bottle of white wine, 2 cups frozen mangos or peaches and 2 cups of ice. Pour into wine glasses. Blend the remaining bottle of wine with 1 cup of frozen strawberries and 1 cup of ice. Pour into the wine glasses on top of the peach blend. Add a straw and enjoy!
Bring out the champagne glasses and mix a pitcher one of the below cocktails for your next party:
French 75 Twist
Ingredients:
- 1 oz gin or vodka
- 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz Cointreau or orange liqueur
Instructions:
Add ice and ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into a sparkling wine flute and top with sparkling rosé.
Sparkling Rosé Fizz
Ingredients:
- 1 oz cognac or brandy
- 3/4 oz blackberry liqueur
- 1/2 of a freshly squeezed lime
Instructions:
Add ice and ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into a sparkling wine flute or martini glass and top with sparkling rosé.
Comments