tinto de verano

Tinto de verano literally translates to "red wine of summer." You could pretty much end the description there and I'd be hooked. What could be better than red wine adapted to hotter, lazier days, made refreshing with bubbles and slight lemony sweetness? It's as if a pitcher of classy red sangria made sweet summer love to a bubbly white wine spritzer. The result is simple, light, and satisfying...perfect for sipping in a hammock in the lingering evening sunshine.

Evidently this is a popular summer refreshment in Spain, where they make it with one part red table wine and one part gaseosa. "Gaseosa," generally a term for sodas of all kinds, refers in this case to a mild, not-too-sweet, carbonated lemonade (La Casera is the common brand in Spain). The equivalent here would be Sprite or 7up - although most recipes I've seen recommend adding a splash of seltzer if you use those, since they're sweeter than the traditional Spanish version. I opted to try Pellegrino Limonata, since it's more lemony and less sugary tasting than Sprite. I figured we could borrow our soda from the Italians and still keep the drink's Mediterranean flair!

Get a printable recipe card here.

Feel free to experiment with the type of lemon or lemon-lime soda you use. In fact, you don't have to stop there...red wine and orange soda is supposedly a variation that people make as well (sounds worth a try!) - and red wine and cola is known as a Calimocho. 

A tinto de verano tastes as satisfying as a glass of perfectly proportioned sangria...without the chopping, macerating, or running out for a $30 bottle of Cointreau, which I never remember I need until the last moment. I don't know about you, but lazy mixology is just my speed these days.

Cheers!

(all photos, jamie grill photography)