Wine in Cocktails

No doubt the purists will recoil in horror at the mere thought, but I’ve been tinkering with the idea of using wines in various cocktails…mixing wine and liquor, as it were.

After sampling quite a few drinks with wine in them, and creating more than a few of my own (some good, some disasters, but that’s what the spirit of scientific exploration does for you), I engaged a mixologist friend of mine up Canada way, one Jeremy Parsons, to attend the recently concluded Society of Wine Educators Annual Conference, this year held in Monterey, CA.

Well, the seminar turned out to be a raving success…and these guys were largely the academic wine-geek persuasion, too! So I thought I’d pass some of the stuff along to the habitués around the WLDG.

First, here are the 10 cocktails Jeremy came up with for the seminar. He and I worked at tweaking them prior to the event…but they are mostly his concepts and ideas. Since these were developed at my behest, you’ll have to ignore the brand spam involved.

Grapes to Cocktails: Mixology & Wine

With Jeremy Parsons
President
Cocktails: The Fluid Experience
416.466.3765
jparsons@beerchill.com
cocktails@bell.blackberry.net


Note: Since these delicious cocktail recipes are designed for convivial get-togethers, we’ve given you the “pitcher” version----because you’ll want to make enough up at one time to satisfy your guests!
So ingredients are based on a pitcher, which generally makes about 20 servings.

Cocktail #1
Million Dollar Sangria
¾ bottle Bolla Chianti DOCG
1 ½ cups Port (the older the better)
4 oz. Finlandia Mango Fusion
2 oz. Tuaca Liquore Italiano
Blueberries/Strawberries/Rasperries, I bunch or half pint each, per pitcher
Navel orange/lemon/lime, 1 each per pitcher
¼ cup of sugar per pitcher, depending on the ripeness of the fruit
This will need to be made and chilled at least 3 hours before hand.

Cocktail #2
Down’Undah Sangria
¾ bottle Wakefield Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay, Australia
5 oz. Finlandia Vodka infused with peach loose tea
1 cup White port
Peaches, about 3 per pitcher

Cocktail #3
Korbel Cherry Blossom
1 oz. Watermelon infused sake
2 oz. Korbel Brut Rose California Champagne
4 oz. White cranberry juice
Raspberry for garnish

Cocktail #4
Painted Desert Margarita
1 oz. Herradura Reposado Tequila infused with a mango peach tea
½ oz. Bonterra Muscat, Bartolucci Vineyards, Lake County
4 oz. Passion fruit juice
1 Orange, halved, pulp muddled, and frozen
(Pour drink into orange half and serve in orange. Garnish as desired)


Cocktail #5
Martini of Mass Seduction
1 oz. Finlandia Vodka
¾ oz. Pomegranate juice
1 oz. Ice Wine
3. oz. Korbel Natural California Champagne, Russian River Valley, 2004

Cocktail #6
Bayouito
1 oz. Gentleman Jack
1 oz. Southern Comfort
½ oz. Bonterra Viognier, Mendocino, Organically Grown Grapes
4. oz. 7 Up
1 oz. Soda
Orange rind
1 tsp.Brown sugar
(Muddle orange rind and brown sugar, mix spirits and wine, then top with sodas)

Cocktail #7
Tiger’s Eye Cocktail
1 oz. Finlandia Mango Fusion
½ oz. Chambord
3 oz. Passion Fruit Juice
1 oz. Mango juice
1 oz. Korbel Brut California Champagne


Cocktail #8
Mantra
2 oz. Fetzer Valley Oaks Sauvignon Blanc
5 oz. Green Tea
Splash of Pomegranate Juice
½ tsp. Brown Sugar

Cocktail #9
Spring Rain
3 oz. Fetzer Valley Oaks Chardonnay
4 oz. White Cranberry Juice
8 Pulverized Raspberries

Cocktail #10
Capetown Chocolate Shake
1 ½ oz. Finlandia Vodka Infused with Dried Apple and Cinnamon
(Infuse 1/8 cup unsulphured dried apple slices and 5 1” pieces of cinnamon stick
in a 750ml bottle of Finlandia Vodka at room temperature for 36 hours.)
1 oz. Amarula Cream Liqueur
3 oz. Chocolate milk



For the tea infusions mentioned above, Jeremy likes to use a Bodum French Press to make them. For the vodka infusions (and the Vodka/Dried Apple/Cinnamon infusion is incredible!) any container will do, since you’ll be straining before serving anyway)

A couple of other cocktails that I came across recently that were great:

Red Slipper: served in a martini bar on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. Wash a rocks glass with Cabernet Sauvignon, then dump (I dump in my mouth. Why waste good CS?), fill glass with rocks, a shot of Don Eduardo Silver Tequila, and Cointreau. The bitter tannic tang of CS gives a sprightly, lively taste to the tequila and orange liqueur.

Sonoma Sunset: or Sunrise if you prefer. Make a Mimosa with OJ and Korbel Natural, then top with a float of Zinfandel. You’ll be surprised at how good it is.

And one I made up on my own that surprised even me: a Mango Muscat Mojito. Muddle up a slice of mango, a slice of lime and some spearmint in a tall glass. Add a shot of Finlandia Mango Vodka, an equal shot of Bonterra Muscat, fill with rocks, and finish with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lime and mango slice.

I don't think purists would be offended. Depends on what kind of wine you're talking about.

At a party the other week I was extremely happy to see a bottle of cassis because it was the only thing that made the available wine drinkable.

And now we have finally found a use for all those High Octane Cocktail Wines. As you mentioned with the Zinfandel. I can see that working.

I don't think purists would be offended. Depends on what kind of wine you're talking about.

At a party the other week I was extremely happy to see a bottle of cassis because it was the only thing that made the available wine drinkable.

And now we have finally found a use for all those High Octane Cocktail Wines. As you mentioned with the Zinfandel. I can see that working.

Well, my goal wasn't about making bad wines more drinkable (a la the original Kir cocktail), although there's certainly nothing wrong with that. I was more interested in seeing what elements or attributes the wine(s) might bring to the cocktails.

Wine as an ingredient in a "cocktail" (broad category, here including traditional spirits cocktails and wine based drinks that might also include spirits, as in sangria, the oft maligned but still tasty quaffer when made with good ingredients) offers some interesting combinations, especially when you consider it a viable ingredient as a milder form of alcohol, and an ingredient that might add entirely different aromas, flavors and textures to a 'mixed drink'.

For instance, the mixologist was at first dubious, then quite inspired, by what the Viognier brought into the "Bayouito" cocktail. The aromatic components of the wine definitely changed the character of the drink. The whisky was largely in the caramel and vanilla zone. The SoCo got into the orange and peachy areas. The Viognier added some interesting floral components and an interesting perfumy quality, along with some peachy qualities. The muddling of the brown sugar and orange rind tied them all together, then the soda brought in some citrus focus.

I've always thought sparkling wines were eminently mixable in a wide variety of drinks. Why use club soda when you can use sparkling wine??? And sparkling wines can work with a lot of different fruits and fruit flavors.

The addition/use of the Muscat (about 9% RS and 9% alc) was an inspired addition to the Painted Desert Marg----it supplied the sugar componet, without putting in nearly as much sugar as you would normally have in that kind of drink, which allowed all the fruit components to show through beautifully.

I would have never used tea with wines---but the ones that Jeremy came up with definitely worked.

The results I've had so far are encouraging. I'll keep experimenting for sure.

Interesting group of cocktails. My only problem is that when I drank hard liquor in my younger days I never "cottoned" to mixed drinks. CC, VO, straight good gin on the rocks etc. I had a couple of bad experiences with some mixed drinks that I have never forgotten. I don't want anything to sneak up on me, I like to know my state of lucidity at all times when drinking alcohol if possible.
Mixed drinks at a dinner party are a hassle unless you hire a bartender. The dinner parties that I have attended in the last few years people rarely ask for mixed drinks, except for the very simple ones.

Interesting, Hoke. I've seen a number of drink recipes that involve wine but none with the specific wine spelled out. These look like fun!

(Except for the Painted Desert Margarita. If I get a bottle of that Bonterra Muscat, there's no way it's going into a cocktail!)

Mike

Cocktail #2
Down’Undah Sangria
¾ bottle Wakefield Promised Land Unwooded Chardonnay, Australia
5 oz. Finlandia Vodka infused with peach loose tea
1 cup White port
Peaches, about 3 per pitcher

This is quite similar to a white sangria that we make in the dog days of summer: sparkling water, crisp white wine, peach Schnapps, fresh peaches, mint, lime juice and sugar. It's amazingly refreshing and a good use for a dull Kiwi SB.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Interesting idea: to put wine in a cocktail not because you have to (i.e. Mex restaurant has wine and beer license only, makes wine margaritas)
but because you WANT to. Not a fan of sweet drinks, but I can appreciate that these would be quite appealing. But a question, as someone who has through life remained true to the advice of my father to never mix grape and grain, if one has more than one of these drinks, is a hangover assured?

if one has more than one of these drinks, is a hangover assured?

If one has several bottles of wine, is a hangover insured?

It is more a question of how much total alcohol (and of course the various and sundry things that might go with it, like esters) one consumes, than how one might mix them up, Jenise.

Much depends on how you view/use cocktails. Despite what people think about my profession (My God! They PAY you just to drink wine and booze and hang around in restaurants and stuff?!?!?!?!) Awesome. Do you need an assistant?) I am fairly abstemious, and I do not drink to get drunk.

I view cocktails, spirits, wines and beers more as sensory pleasures than alcohol delivery systems. And having invested an awful lot of time studying the history of those beverages throughout various societies, I'm impressed even more about the inherent mixability of wine---indeed, it might be fair to say that more wine has been consumed as a mixable ingredient than "straight".

I'm also intrigued, within the realm of modern consumption, with the basic aromatic, taste, and textural qualities that wine can bring to a drink. Cocktails, these days, are not at all like what some of us...er, more mature...individuals remember from our misspent youth. The new mixologists, and the younger consumers, aren't focused so much on the tradtional cocktails (although there are resurgences there), but more on the interesting combinations of aromas, flavors and textures.

There's focus on essential oils, macerated fruits/spices, natural flavors, absolute freshness, intensity of expression. For instance, ginger (pickled, raw, marinated) is a popular cocktail condiment these days. So are lavender, black pepper, lime oil, chili peppers, and coffee---just to name a few). In other words, in search of flavor, the sky's pretty much the limit.

Since I love wine as much as I do, it's natural I think to wonder what a particular wine will bring to an equation. Each spirit has its own 'flavor/aroma wheel', just as each wine does. And each wine has its own structural components (acidity, tannin, bubbles, sugar) as well. So the idea of combining a wine with other ingredients is intriguing.

And, as a potential bonus, the addition of wine to a cocktail could be seen as lowering the alcoholic strength of a cocktail. For instance, if you had a Cosmopolitan (essentially cranberry, lime, vodka and orange liqueur) and either in part or in whole subsituted sparkling wine for the vodka, you would have a lowered alcohol level in the finished drink. For the consumer, that means less consumption...and for a bartender, that might mean selling two or three drinks instead of just one!

When you come to my house, you may be offered wine in many forms and guises, Jenise. If it's a warm, sunny day, you might get a wine cooler, or there might be pitcher of sangria available (I love the tropical sangrias, but that's because I love tropical fruits). Or you might just find an agua fresca jar sweating away on a table, possibly spiked by a touch of wine.

You'll also get wine straight up, of course. But you might get it as part of a sauce or glaze, or in a stew. You might get sparkling wine, white dry wine, red wine, dessert wine, or wine as cocktail (infused wine, mixed drinks, etc.) Heck, if it's winter time, you might get it mulled or spiced.

Heh, heh...you never know.

Your posting has encouraged me to post a recipe later this week for a wine punch that I first tried in Germany. It involves strong tea and strawberry wine plus other ingredients but a fruity Beaujolais could probably replace the strawberry wine.

[Jenise]

Hoke, who said anything about getting drunk? I wasn't talking about drinking in excess, merely citing what has been my own experience in mixing. I can have another glass of wine after dinner and be just fine. But make that one after dinner drink port, with its fortified element, or something distilled AND sweet, and chances are good I'll wake up with a headache. Sugary drinks at other times can give me a headache before I've gotten to the bottom of the first cocktail, even margaritas. I would presume this was my own individual overload set point, but the lore about mixing grape and grain (with sidebars about the addition of sugar) says it's long been a problem for others, too.

Those misgivings aside, the wide open spaces of combining spirits and the kind of flavorings you describe is quite intriguing. I find the martini lists in restaurants these days quite entertaining to read, though I think back to my good old days of ordering Barrels of Rum at the Warehouse in Marina del Rey and the particularly deadly Adios Mother at the Studio Cafe on Balboa, and wonder if they're really any different. The ingredients are more sophisticated, and so is the glassware, but they may be so good and easy to drink that stopping wisely at one may be deceptively difficult.

Sorry, Jenise. It's been my experience that most of the people who raise the spectre of mixing different alcohols are primarily complaining about overconsumption and its unavoidable results. And I still believe that is the most common problem...once one has a cocktail (or two or three), then a full multi-course dinner, with a different wine at each course, then a dessert wine (usually either fortified or loaded with sugar, or both)....then, sure, I can see the adage about mixing alcohol being appropriate. But only in the sense that it leads to too much alcohol.

I can see that in your particular case it might be a matter of alcohol and sugar, absolutely. It is one of the reasons I either sip verrrry judiciously when the dessert wines come out, or avoid them altogether. We keep some tiny little antique needle-etched glassware on hand for such wines; they hold such a small amount it causes folks to slip lightly and slowly, and thus consume less. [I will freely admit we also do this because of the idea that our guests will shortly be leaving and the last thing we want to do is load them up on a brimming Riedel ballon of Oporto.]

But back to your point on sugar: not all cocktails have to be sweet. Many of them are dry. Many of them derive much of what sugar content they have from fresh fruit juices and oils. One of the really remarkable things about cocktails these days is the focus on basic essential flavors: fresh juices, oils, aromatic components.

To a certain extent, I share your feelings about sugar/sweetness. While I do enjoy some juice-sweetened drinks, I don't really care that often for the syrupy/sugary ones. I order my margaritas without simple syrup or sweet/sour mix, which is the way most of them are made these days. Tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice, a little orange liqueur, that's it, baby. I don't want my marg to be sticky. And when I do want something more exotic, it often goes more towards the tart side, like pomegranate, cranberry, lime, lemon.

That's one of the reasons I liked the Red Slipper drink and the Sonoma Sunset---because it lessened the sugar sweetness in the drink and actually added tannin (and bitterness).

Sorry, Jenise. It's been my experience that most of the people who raise the spectre of mixing different alcohols are primarily complaining about overconsumption and its unavoidable results..

I agree. For me the main issue has always been quantity not diversity..

But what do I know.

[Jenise]

Sorry, Jenise. It's been my experience that most of the people who raise the spectre of mixing different alcohols are primarily complaining about overconsumption and its unavoidable results.

Oh, I understand. But this is WLDG, not the bowling alley.

Yes, typically I skip dessert wines too. And cocktails before dinner if wine's to be served with? No, not that either. I enjoy wine but that's pretty much it. Probably in some part because in addition to a sensitivity I apparently have, I grew up with a father who was part of the mai tai generation for whom fruity cocktails were a means of making alcohol easier to swallow. I never developed a taste for them.

True story: Bob and I took my father and his wife out to dinner at a good Italian restaurant, and after dinner I ordered cappucinos for the table without giving the implications a second thought. At that time, espresso coffees in restaurants were fairly rare and I didn't think they'd have had such a thing before.

When it arrived, Betty took one sip and made a face of both distaste and disbelief, and blurted out quite inelegantly, "But there's no booze in it!"
I had completely forgotten the old boozy coffee bar drinks that, of course, my father and his wife expected. They had no idea that a cappucino could be anything else.

Ah, the old boozy coffee bar drinks.

They're still around, god knows, and in greater variety than ever before. But like you, I never cottoned to them much...with the one exception of Irish Coffee, which I consider in an entirely different class.

Mind you, I'm not referring to those poofty latte drinks with canned whipped cream in tall glasses they CALL Irish Coffee. I'm talking about the kind that is rarely made correctly any more, and which I normally make better at home anyway.

We're talking real dense black coffee, freshly made, a healthy dram of Irish, dark brown sugar, and freshly hand-whipped cream delicately slid on top of the coffee. Most people don't understand the cream is supposed to be frothed up, not to the point of stiffness (what's the use, since it settles into a thick layer of cream anyway when it hits the coffee); and it's not supposed to be blended with the coffee. The point is to sip that incredibly smooth velvety sweet cream, then have the jolt of the black coffee, the rich maltiness of the sugar, and the smooth bite of the Irish kick in.

All those other coffee drinks they can toss as far as I'm concerned.

And the Trader Vic's/Mai Tai generation? Yep, know exactly what you mean. I admit I do indulge in those very, very occasionally, as I like fruit concoctions, but my standards remain pretty high. Last time I had a Mai Tai was when I was in the Pink Lady on Waikiki at (fittingly enough) the Mai Tai Bar on the beach. And when I go on a cruise I will have at least one 'boat drink'---but I'm very picky and will usually give precise instructions about what to put in and what to leave out.

Thing is, a lot of the frou-frou drinks actually started out as decent drinks, then got bastardized along the way. The Daiquiri, for instance. The Margarita. The best thing a bartender can tell me these days, Jenise, is those welcome words, "We don't DO frozen drinks, sir."

As to cocktails before dinner, yes, I sometimes do that. But it's not the kind of thing where I'm sitting in a bar slamming down three or four drinks, getting hammered before I get to the table. More like, sitting in a comfortable lounge, relaxing, chatting with people, having a liquor-based appetizer. mellowing out. Sort of a liquid amuse geule.

I've heard the wine purists sniff at that, saying the liquor kills their palate and such. That's BS....unless, sure, you're coating your palate with three shots of Islay Iodine or killing off a couple of German Black Forest Chocolate Coconut Cosmos. But odds are I wouldn't be going out to dinner with those people anyhoo. Not twice, anyway.

I remember the experience of going to a cocktail lounge in my hometown of Lincoln, NE with a distant cousin who was a professor of architecture at the University of Nebraska and her colleague who was from Ireland. We saw Irish coffee on the menu so I requested one and the other two echoed my request. Well, what they served us was pretty bad, so the Irishman instructed them on how to properly prepare the potation and then assisted the server in preparing our round of drinks. I do have a fondness for the real Irish coffee.