Although wine affectionados shudder at the thought of wine cocktails they have been around since the 1800s. The trick to a really good wine cocktail is to know and understand what each individual wine brings to the table so that you can pair it with the right complimentary flavor.
Champagne cocktails were extremely popular during the 1920s (although their inception was during the 1800s), the most popular of them was The Champagne Cocktail.
The Champagne Cocktail
1 sugar cube
2-3 dashes angostura bitters
champagne
Place the cube in the bottom of a champagne flute and add the bitters, then top up the glass with the champagne slowly.
Another champagne cocktail that was popular then was the Kir Royale which is simply champagne with a splash of crme de cassis added.
The most popular champagne cocktail today would have to be the Bucks Fizz or Mimosa (depending on where in the world you are). Half champagne and half orange juice served in champagne flutes, this cocktail is a basic at champagne breakfast celebrations. It is also a staple at Mothers Day brunches around the world.
For a different champagne cocktail you could combine the glitz and glamour of the 1920s with the modern and sophisticated James Bond and you would have the Bubbly Martini or you could pay homage to the Kir Royale of old with the Martini Royale.
Bubbly Martini
2 shots vodka
champagne
Take a chilled cocktail glass and place a strawberry in the bottom next add vodka. Now top up with champagne and you have a Bubbly Martini.
Martini Royale
1 shots vodka
shot crme de cassis
champagne
Place the vodka and crme de cassis in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Pour into a cocktail glass, top up with chilled champagne and garnish with a blackberry.
If you prefer raspberry flavors to blackberry then you could try the Floof.
Floof
2 shots raspberry vodka
1 shot raspberry liqueur
champagne
Shake the vodka and raspberry liqueur together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top the glass up with champagne and garnish with a raspberry.
The most important thing to remember when making champagne or wine cocktails is that all of the ingredients, as well as the glasses, should be chilled.
Wine adds sweetness and fruit to any cocktail, it already has so many nuances to it that adding it to a cocktail should make your taste buds sing. Recognizing a wine's signature and paying homage to it is what sets a good cocktail apart from a drink that you wouldn't offer your worst enemy.
The first wine cocktail that I'm going to show you calls for a sauvignon blanc variety, when choosing a wine I tend to go for a middle of the road range. I would never put a wine in a cocktail that I would not be prepared to drink on its own, however I do not want to go too top shelf as the top of the range should be enjoyed as a stand alone drink.
Vanitini
2 shots vanilla vodka
2 shots sauvignon blanc wine
shot pineapple liqueur
shot blackberry liqueur
Shake all of the ingredients together with ice then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
A very exciting wine to use is a sake rice wine, there are some wonderful cocktails waiting to be prepared with this ingredient, I have chosen the Sakepolitan. The Cosmopolitan Japanese style is how a friend of mine describes this drink.
Sakepolitan
3 shots sake rice wine
shot triple sec
shot cranberry juice
shot freshly squeezed lime juice
Shake all of the ingredients together with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Of course the classic wine cocktail has to be the Wine Spritzer. This works well with red or white wine. Basically take your highball glass and fill it with ice then fill it of the way with your wine of choice whether it be a chardonnay or a dry red table wine and top with soda.
When you have a claret or red Bordeaux wine (again depending on where you live) then a nice cocktail to try is a Wonder Martini.
Wonder Martini
1 shot gin
1 shot claret (red Bordeaux wine)
shot sugar syrup
shot freshly squeezed lemon juice
Shake all of the ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
If you prefer a shiraz then you could try a Yugoslav Shiraz. This cocktail is based on one I tried when holidaying in Yugoslavia before the civil war broke out.
Yugoslav Shiraz
Shiraz
Orange soda
Pour the orange soda half way up a high ball glass then carefully pour in the shiraz until the glass is full. Leave the drink to settle, it will divide into two distinct layers and looks pretty amazing. Serve with a straw, it tastes much better if you stir it with your straw before drinking.
Next time you enjoy a glass of wine, think about what flavors may go with your favorite tipple and then you could invent your own cocktail. Alternatively you could check out one of the myriad of cocktail sites online to find a cocktail that embraces the style of wine you prefer.