Growing up in Columbia, SC, warmly nicknamed the Screen Door to Hell, the goal of the summer was to make friends with people who had a pool. Fortunately, one of my mom’s best friends had a pool and we would descend upon her house for all-day pool parties. The mothers would make Bloody Marys, and the kids would toast childhood with their Virgin Marys. This was, and still is, my favorite summer scenario. A hot sunny day, a crisp refreshing pool, friends and a delicious cocktail in my hand.
This summer my go-to “cocktail” is one with wine. Wine cocktails are super easy to make, tasty and much lower in alcohol than traditional mixed drinks.
There are multiple recipes out there for wine cocktails, but the easiest way to make a concoction is to start with a sweeter rosé, a sweeter white or a sparkling Prosecco, pour over ice and add fresh fruit and herbs. Voila! You have one of the easiest cocktails ever made.
If you want to invest just a little bit more time in your wine cocktail, white wine sangria with Albariño is refreshing as well as a white wine mojito. Mimosas are classic, but I have always preferred using different juices besides just orange juice. One of my favorite blends to add to sparkling wine is equal parts orange juice, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. The white wine mojito is also simple to assemble: just add sweet white wine, mint and lime over crushed ice.
Another option for a refreshing summer wine is a chillable red. There are some fun red wines that handle a little bit of chilling well. The key to picking red wine to throw in the fridge is that you do not want to pick one with too much acidity, or one that is too dry. They also taste a little better if the finish is lighter like a Pinot Noir as opposed to a full-bodied wine such as a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Some of my favorite chillable red wines are Gamay, Frappato and Lambrusco.
Gamay grapes are light-bodied, fruit forward, and have notes of flowers, strawberries and cherries. The majority of Gamay is grown in the Beaujolais region of France. Frappato is a grape originating in Sicily. The wine tastes like strawberries, pomegranate and wildflowers, and it goes down nice and easy. Lambrusco has typically been thought of as a sickeningly sweet red wine from Italy, but lately I have seen more dry and layered styles of Lambrusco, and they are delicious. Lambrusco also has a slight effervescence to help lighten up your mood on a hot day.
This August when it hot enough out there that even Satan is sweating, switch it up and cool down with a chilled wine cocktail. Enjoy!
Elspeth Brown is the owner of Maggie B’s Wine & Specialty Store, 10 C South Main Street in Weaverville. For more information, visit MaggieBsWine.com, or call 828.645.1111.
