Hot Summer Calls for Cooled-Off Wine

by Eve Bushman

In the heat of the day, a wine-themed cocktail works for several reasons:  Some concoctions lower the alcohol percentage, taste lighter, use summer fruits and are a good way to use left-over wine.  Today’s article is a collection of easy recipes that I like and some interesting ones that readers sent in.
Our Journey Begins
Starting with a classic, the Spritzer, we will then move onto more adventurous wine-based cocktails, and then return back to wine for the purists.
A Spritzer is, per the dictionary, a drink made of wine and carbonated water. German, from spritzen, to spray, from Middle High German sprützen.
The Whites
Add fresh or frozen lemon, orange, mango, peach, mint leaves and/or lime to Pinot Grigio (substitute any inexpensive white wine) and chilled club soda, seltzer or sparkling water.  Two parts wine to one part sparkling, the amount of fruit is up to you.  Serve over crushed ice, add a straw and adorn with a silly umbrella or flowers.
Want it sweeter?  Add honey, use soda pop or line the glasses with sugar.  Our local restaurant and bar, Mixers, places colored Pop Rocks on some of the rims of their drinks!
The Reds
For red wine, add strawberries, blackberries, raspberries to an Italian table wine, Japanese Plum wine, or to any leftover red wine.  Add the same types of sparkling waters I listed above.
Eve hint: If it were me, I’d freeze the fruit, set it out over ice just as guest arrive, and let them garnish their own red or white Spritzer.  Make a design-your-own-drink party of it!
For the Adventurous
Recipe Courtesy of Julie Jones
BLOODY MARU: 2 oz. of Sake wine, 4 drops Worcestershire sauce, 2 drops Tabasco, 1 dash horseradish, 1 dash limejuice, tomato juice, salt and pepper. Mix first 5 ingredients with ice in tumbler, add tomato juice, stir again, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Recipe Courtesy of Beth Greenwald
KIR: White wine poured over a splash of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur).
Recipe Courtesy of  Rob Barnett
One part Absolut ruby red vodka, Rosé wine, orange soda, 1 slice grapefruit. Fill a chilled wine glass with ice cubes. Add Absolut ruby red vodka. Top with orange soda and Rosé wine. Garnish with slice of grapefruit.
Recipe Courtesy of  Gretchen Kalimotxo
1/2 red wine, 1/2 cola over ice with lemon.
Recipe Courtesy of Carrie DuShey
BLUEBERRY BLOW POP:  2oz Three Olives Bubble vodka, 1oz blueberry schnapps, top with champagne. It can be served in a flute or over ice.
Recipe Courtesy of  Jennifer Capa
AMERICANO: Sweet vermouth (an inexpensive, fortified white wine), Campari bitters, lemon, soda.
Recipe Courtesy of Craig Trager of Vintage Bar Group and the El Bar  
TRADITIONAL SANGRIA: Stemless wine glass, muddle (crush) 1 slice of orange, lemon and lime and simple syrup, add ice and 1 oz Brandy, 1 oz triple sec, 1 oz orange juice, 2 oz red wine.  Shake, pour into wine glass and top with soda water. Garnish with slice of orange, lemon and lime.
SPARKLING BERRY SANGRIA: Stemless wine glass, muddle one each raspberry, blueberry, blackberry and simple syrup
1 oz each: raspberry, blueberry, blackberry vodka; ½ oz triple sec, ¼ oz Drambuie. Shake; pour into wine glass, add sparkling wine. Garnish with berries.
The Purists
Purists are the red wine drinkers huddled inside your house closest to an air conditioning vent.  Hot red wine, embellished wine, both are verboten to the true purists.  Better to stay inside.  
For me, I’ll be inside the closest wine cellar, never leaving any wine ‘leftover’.
Yours, in wine and out,
Eve

You may contact Eve at ebushman@earthlink.net for questions and comments. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, evewine101.blogspot.com and westranchbeacon.com.