Wine offers perfect ingredient for refreshing summer cocktails - Islander News.com

A good summer drink should be light, savory and refreshing. And if it also looks good? Bingo!

Because wine is lower in alcohol than spirits, cocktails made with this fermented beverage are always a great pick for a hot day. They are “easy-sippers” that do not sacrifice flavor.

And even though I’ll always love a bar – its aesthetics, atmosphere, and even the beautiful coordination of bartenders in action – the idea of having drinks in the comfort of my house is very inviting. In fact, today we can find ready-to-drink cocktails in many specialized shops and gourmet markets. Bellini, Sangria, Margarita -- they all come in bottles and cans. And you can choose to simply drink them “as they are,” or use them as a base for more personalized versions.

I like to add sparkling wine -- in a 50/50 ratio -(- and sometimes a hint of peach schnapps) to most Bellinis we find in the market, so as to calibrate their sweetness and intensity.

Bellini, by the way, is a true “classic” -- created sometime between 1934 and 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice. The original recipe is simple, taking only Prosecco and white peach purée. It became such a hit, however, that versions with other fruits followed, like Puccini (with mandarin), and Rossini (with strawberry).

If you want to prepare a cocktail “from scratch,” you’ll need a good recipe, proper tools (shaker, strainer, squeezer), and the right ingredients (bitters, fruits, vegetables, and wine and spirits that fit your needs). But which wine is appropriate for cocktails?

If the recipe asks for sparkling wine, you don’t need to use champagne, which is usually more complex – and expensive - than other sparkling wines. You can go with Cava, Crémant, or another good sparkling. Just make sure it is Brut (dry) or Extra-Brut (very dry) in style, unless the recipe says otherwise.

If the recipe calls for Sherry, go with a dry one as well. A safe choice is Amontillado, a sort of mid-way point in terms of intensity. Unless, of course, the recipe tells you to use a specific one, like Cream Sherry, Fino or Oloroso.

For still wines, if the recipe doesn’t determine a specific grape varietal, I’d go with Pinot Grigio for white, a Chianti (made of Sangiovese) for red, and, for rosé, one that is not too structured or overly aromatic. The wine shouldn’t “steal the scene” by overpowering other ingredients. After all, there will be other important “players” in your glass!

Here are some easy-to-prepare cocktail recipes to help you craft your own drink:

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CLERICO

1 bottle dry white wine

3 oz triple sec

½ pound in-season fruits (apple, orange, pineapple, lemon, grapes, etc)

½ cup lemon-lime soda

½ teaspoon sugar

Wash and cut all fruit into similar-sized cubes. Place fruit in a 2-liter glass pitcher. Add sugar and triple sec. Stir with a long wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Mash fruit with a spoon, and pour in wine and lemon-lime soda. Stir for at least 1 minute. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight. Serve chilled in white wine glass over ice. Use a spoon to place a small amount of wine-soaked fruit in each glass.

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STRAWBERRY BASIL MOSCATO LEMONADE

6 oz Moscato

4 Strawberries

1 teaspoon sugar

1 sprig basil

1 oz lemon juice

Blend all ingredients, except wine, together. Strain into tall glass. Pour over Moscato. Add bendy straw.

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CUCUMBER MINT FUMÉ BLANC FIZZ

3 oz Fumé Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc

3 oz Cava

1 oz cucumber water

½ oz lime juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Pinch coarsely chopped mint. Make cucumber water by grating, blending and straining a cucumber. Add cucumber water, wine, lime juice, sugar and mint to a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice. Strain into a serving glass and top with 3 oz sparkling wine.

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Marcella Carneiro is a Certified Specialist of Wine living in Key Biscayne since 2017. She works as a wine educator in the Miami area, and also as a wine consultant for The Golden Hog located in Harbor Plaza.

To reach Marcella for questions, you can email her at marcellakb17@gmail.com

All the wines listed are available at The Golden Hog

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Wine offers perfect ingredient for refreshing summer cocktails - Islander News.com
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