You don’t need to go out to enjoy a delicious wine cocktail. Head right over to your home bar and whip up one of these enticing spring recipes. By combining your favorite wine with some of the season’s most scrumptious flavors, you can indulge in a tasty cocktail in the privacy and comfort of your home.
- French 75
You should have at least one bottle of bubbly in your wine storage cabinet, so pop some champagne and put together this classic cocktail. The French 75 (or Soixante Quinze) has been around for over 100 years and should be served in a champagne flute with a lemon twist. But don’t let the fruit fool you. This champagne cocktail may be slightly sweet and citrusy but it packs a serious kick.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. gin
- 2 oz. champagne
- ¾ oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ oz. simple syrup
Directions:
Grab a cocktail shaker from your bar cabinet and pour in your gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. Strain your mixture into a flute, top with champagne, and serve with a lemon twist.
- Springtime Sangria
Make the most of the season’s fresh fruit with a juicy spring Sangria. This wine cocktail is a favorite year long — but it’s especially delicious when you combine white wine with ripe strawberries or oranges. Pick your favorite bottle of dry white wine from your wine storage cabinet to use as the base for your spring Sangria. The optional addition of brandy adds bold flavor, and you can control the sweetness by using either club soda or a lemon-lime soda. Serve in a large pitcher and enjoy on your backyard patio.
Ingredients:
- 750 ml. bottle of chilled dry white wine
- ¼ cup brandy
- ¼ cup to ⅔ cup of white sugar
- 1 to 2 cups of club soda or lemon-lime soda
- Fresh seasonal fruit (such as strawberries, oranges, pineapple or cherries)
Directions:
Sangria can be made a few hours before, or left over night, so that the flavors really marinate. Combine all of your ingredients (except your soda) into a large pitcher, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Before serving, add one to two cups of either club soda or lemon-lime soda (depending on how sweet you like your Sangria). Serve in white wine glasses.
- Rosé-Aperol Spritz
This springtime version of an Aperol Spritz from Bon Appetit is as pleasant as it is pink, so you’ll want to stock your bar cabinet with Aperol a little earlier this year. By swapping Prosecco with a bottle of sparkling rosé and adding passion fruit juice, this Italian, wine-based cocktail turns a blushing shade of soft pink. If you love an Aperol Spritz in summer, fall in love with a Rosé-Aperol Spritz this spring.
Ingredients:
- 750 ml. bottle of sparkling rosé
- ¾ cup passion fruit juice
- ¼ cup Aperol
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 4 tsp. sugar
- Grapefruit (optional garnish)
Directions:
In a large pitcher, mix the Aperol, passion fruit juice, lime juice, and sugar. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, stir in the sparkling rosé. Serve your Rosé-Aperol Spritz over ice in a large wine glass and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
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