Making Wine Cocktails

Just like any alcohol-based drinks, wine can be a great ingredient to include in your cocktail creations. With the right recipe and a little bit of imagination, your wine can be turned into a fun drink that even your buddies who detest wine can enjoy!

Basic Sangria

Making a wine punch, or sangria, is easy and the results are delicious. It even gets better with some little spicing up by adding different fruits, spices, and other concoctions into the mix. After you've stirred in everything, just chill and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of quality red wine
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
2 tbsp sugar
1 shot brandy
2 cups ginger ale or soda water

Preparation:

Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice from the lemon and orange wedges into the wine.

Toss in the fruit wedges, leaving out the seeds if possible.

Add sugar and brandy.

Put it in the refrigerator and chill overnight.

Add ginger ale or soda water just before serving.

If you like to serve it right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice.

Strawberry Sangria

Taking advantage of one of summer's favorite fruits, mix strawberries with the season's most requested wine, a Rosé. Truly a wine lover's answer to strawberry daiquiris.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Rosé wine (Spanish Rosé, or Rosado, is much preferred)
½ cup white sugar
1 ½ cups strawberry lemonade
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup soda water or lemon lime soda

Preparation:

Pour wine in the pitcher and add sliced strawberries.

Add sugar, strawberry lemonade, and stir gently.

Add soda water and ice just before serving.

White Lightning Sangria

Sure to light up any party, this cocktail is easy to make and quick to refill. Its dash of vodka offers a powerful "kick" into this mix!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of quality white wine
½ cup vodka
½ cup white grape juice
½ cup white sugar
½ cup seedless white grapes, sliced
1 tangerine, sliced
½ pineapple, sliced
1 cup soda water

Preparation:

Pour wine and vodka in the pitcher.

Add sliced grapes, tangerine, and pineapple.

Add sugar and stir gently.

Chill mixture for at least one hour.

Add soda water just before serving.

You can also replace the fruits into either or any combination of the following: sliced strawberries, fresh blackberries, and banana slices.