Let's give wine cocktails the moment they deserve. They're pretty, light, and refreshing; it's honestly a modern-day travesty they don't get more attention. Plus, for most well-known wine cocktails, they are super easy to make in batches and serve in a pitcher, making them a festive and delicious way to entertain guests without breaking a sweat.
To keep you calm, cool, and collected, here are some of our go-to favorite wine cocktails that you're probably going to want to try tonight. So invite some friends, queue up the Instacart order and let's get the party started!
Orange Juice
Alright, if your mind didn't immediately say mimosa when you read orange juice, we think you should go to the doctor. Seriously, leave now.
A mimosa is the most famous wine cocktail, and this might go without saying, but it is made with sparkling wine or champagne and, obviously, orange juice. It's the spirit animal of the first class in airlines and is also served at brunches and weddings.
Because we're assuming we're not providing you new information, we're going to up the ante and share some information on mimosas you might not know. For example, did you know that the cocktail is named after the yellow-flowered mimosa plant? Back in the day, the plant was super popular amongst french planters. While pretty, we guess, we'd prefer a dozen of mimosa drinks over a dozen of these flowers…. Just saying.
While mimosas are best known for their combination of bubbly and orange juice, many bartenders and drink enthusiasts have created their own variations of mimosas. And no, this doesn't just apply to the amount of champagne and orange juice; there are actually different flavors that replace the orange juice! Here are a few of the well-known variations of mimosas you should be dying to try!
The Buck's Fizz: Okay, so we lied. We are including on mimosa variation that directly relates to the ratio of champagne to orange juice, and it's this fizzy drink. Invented in London and has twice as much champagne as orange juice. If you're feeling fancy, garnish this bad boy with some orange peel. We see you London, and we like you.
The Poinsettia: A variation on the mimosa that's perfect if you're suffering from a UTI! (We're so sorry about that!) If you didn't guess, this delicious cocktail is cranberry juice and champagne. Sometimes bartenders up this drink's street cred by adding vodka or Cointreau (an orange-flavored liqueur). Any way it's made, we're willing to give it a try!
The Lemosa: We're guessing you can make an educated guess on what this cocktail is made from based on the root of it's name. Yes, you are correct. This delicious cocktail recipe is composed of lemonade and champagne.
The Vermosa: Alright, this one isn't as easy to guess as Lemonosa, but if you thought it was made from Vermont, USA, you are correct! This drink, which also goes by the alias Crips, is apple cider and champagne. We'll be honest; this does sound like a good time!
The Soleil: This cocktail is created with pineapple juice and champagne. We'd be lying if we didn't automatically imagine ourselves drinking this on the beach in Hawaii.
The Megmosa: Grapefruit juice: you either love it or hate it. For us, we love to hate it and love to love it when you add champagne to it.
Apple Cider Sangria
Sangria is great because there are so many different ways to make it; the possibilities are endless between the different fruits, juices, wines, and liquors. But, Sangria is often synonymous with warm summer nights. This apple-based cocktail flips that notion on its head and has you dreaming of fall. Flavorful, filled with all the fall flavors like cinnamon, lemon juice, ginger, apple cider, and a white wine like pinot grigio, it has you wondering if Fall can last all year long.
Club Soda or Soda Water
Hard seltzers are having their moment right now. Every time we're at the grocery store (alright, you caught us, whenever we're ordering Instacart), we are overwhelmed with the number of hard seltzers that are on the market. Essentially, these drinks contain two primary ingredients: sparkling water and alcohol.
As a zero-sugar wine company that comes in beautiful, sweet cans, we have to hand it to hard seltzers. They are low in sugar (typically, less than five grams), usually gluten-free, but they're 6% ABV. They're a great drink when you're planning on drinking over an extended period; these drinks scream marathon, not sprint.
Hard seltzers are not the same as flavored beers or other malt beverages out there. Those typically have higher alcohol content and include added sugar.
They are also not the same thing as a white wine spritzer. Wine spritzers have a wine base. They often have the wine flavor you know and love, but a touch of fun. These drinks are usually made with white wine, but you can have a red wine spritzer if your heart desires. For the fizziest, most fun drink, with the max spritz, always grab for a Bev girl.
Coke
We're on a mission to defend our girl Sonja Morgan with this cocktail. If you happen to be a "Real Housewives of New York" buff, you know that Sonja Morgan got some serious heat while drinking rose and coke last season. The other women were disgusted, and even Andy Cohen questioned how anyone could drink that at their reunion. Leanne de Lesseps even went as far as to tweet, "Rose and coke. That's a new one" and included a barf face emoji. Girl to girl, we're so sorry, Sonja, we're just so sorry for what you went through.
We believe Sonja was actually the most knowledgeable of them all! Hear us out: mixing red wine and Coca-Cola is called "kalimotxo." In the 1970s, this drink was ICONIC, like Sonja herself, and became one of Spain's most international beverages. Perhaps, Sonja was putting her spin on the iconic Spanish drink by making it rose wine. Maybe she just wanted a lighter version of the international drink. That is our defense of the queen, and now we shall move on.
Lemonade
Another wine-based popular drink that hails from Spain! Known as "Tinto de Verano," which quite literally translates to "red wine of summer," mixing lemonade with red wine is more refreshing than it sounds. Like a sangria, it is made from one part of table red wine, one part of a carbonated drink, like soda water, then mixed with a mild-flavored, low-sugar, carbonated lemonade. Sometimes, rum is added to the combo to make it extra fun!
Nectar
Wine and nectar are best known for creating the popular drink, bellini. Originating from Venice, Italy, the bellini is a fruity, fizzy drink that takes any celebration up a notch. Similar to a mimosa, because both are made with champagne or prosecco, a bellini differs because it is made with peach puree or peach schnapps instead of orange juice.
The Bellani is an IBA Official Cocktail. IBA stands for "International Bartenders Association" and essentially means that the Bellani can be used in the annual World Cocktail Competition in bartending. (Remind us to look into how we can volunteer to be taste tester at this event) But in any case, as it is an IBA cocktail, experts also suggest the following variations of the Bellani:
Puccini: replace the peach puree with mandarin juice
Rossini: replace the peach puree with strawberry puree
Tintoretto: replace the peach puree with pomegranate juice.
Sign us up for one of each, please?
More Alcohol
Ah, so you're looking to have a really, really good time tonight, aren't you? Don't worry. While you can pretty much add anything you want to your vino, from tequila to vermouth, we have some famous wine-based cocktails up our sleeves that will give you the fun you desire!
The New York Sour: You don't need to be in New York to drink this IBA official cocktail. Like a whiskey sour, the New York Sour adds a float of dry red wine to the drink. Cheers to that!
A Cheeky Vimto: We're always game for anything that describes itself as cheeky. This cocktail is popular in nightclubs and bars in the UK and, as such, is served in a pub glass. To make this fruity flavored drink, you combine one bottle of WKD Blue original, one shot of port wine, and one shot of vodka. Not going to lie; we feel a little tipsy, just writing that out.
Death in the Afternoon: Yup, we had to include this one just in case we have a Hemingway fan out there reading this. Thank you, in advance, for noticing how similar our writing is to the famous author. All jokes aside, this cocktail also goes by the Hemingway or Hemingway Champagne and is created by combining champagne and absinthe.
Just for a little history on this strong sounding drink: legend has it, this drink was created after Hemingway spent time in Left Bank, Paris, where he frequently enjoyed absinthe.
Flirtini: Often consumed by the women in the popular show Sex and the City, the flirtini contains pineapple juice, vodka, and champagne. Well, no wonder it's a bit flirty!
In Summary
In summation, there are a lot of delicious ways to mix wine and make the perfect mixed drink. So, we're not going to take up much more of your time because you obviously have some mixing to do!
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