Wine is wonderful, but a certain demographic (I’m looking at you Gen Z) seem to increasingly prefer cocktails.
“Customisation is key, which is why cocktails are the perfect drink of choice for Gen Z,” says Carmen O’Neal, Saturday Kitchen’s spirits expert and founder of 58 and Co distillery.
“Cocktails can be tailored to their tastes and needs, without being held back by tradition or a preconceived notion of how something should be enjoyed”. Thankfully wine makes a perfect addition to a well-crafted cocktail. “It’s a great alternative to spirits as it makes for a lower ABV drink, appealing to this generation,” continues O’Neal.
“Spritzes and sangrias are versatile cocktails that can be experimented with by using different wine styles and can be enjoyed throughout the evening as they’re long and not too booze-forward”. O’Neal has just launched a new British Bianco Vermouth using excess wine from premium boxed wine brand Laylo, and handpicked botanicals from her British distillery’s garden. Fantastic neat with ice, served long with tonic or topped up with Prosecco and soda water as a sophisticated wine Spritz (£29, 58andco.com).
Gearing up for party season I have been experimenting with a pink-tinged take on the Kir Royale, pouring tulip or flute glasses of chilled Codorniu Ars Collecta Blanc de Blancs Cava (£18, Ocado) and adding a generous slug of Giffard Crème de Fraise des Bois & Fraise (£20, Amazon) for an effervescent, fruity aperitif. I will be muddling up some strawberries for a Halloween-appropriate “blood clot” base in the glass too.
Trivento, a winery from Argentina’s Mendoza, has captured the cocktail-loving moment by creating wines ideal for mixology, such as their Trivento Reserve White Malbec (£8.50, Sainsburys). Pour 6cl into a glass along with 1.5cl lime juice, 1.5cl vodka and 5cl ginger beer and you end up with a fresh, zippy combo that can be topped with lime and mint for a mojito feel. It’s swift, simple and brilliantly uplifting.
Lia Temple, Restaurant Manager and head of beverage at Pophams says she’s noticed people are more often “choosing a natural wine that undergoes biodynamic practices… This comes down to understanding and educating themselves more about how it is made and the impact this will have on how you feel the following day”.
Temple incorporates natural wines in Pophams’ cocktails such as the Raspberry Spritz which uses 10cl of natural orange wine, 1.5cl of vanilla syrup, a squeeze of lemon juice and four muddled raspberries, poured together over ice, topped up with soda water, stirred and garnished with a fresh basil leaf. Fabulous, and apparently less likely to give you a hardcore hangover the next day, though I think that depends on how many you have!
Gin Distillery Gyre & Gimble have created a Pinot Noir Gin using grapes from local Norfolk wineries that would otherwise be wasted and, though great as a wine-themed G&T, this is especially good in a negroni (£34.99, Angel Price £29.99, Naked Wines)
Wine in cocktails may be a way of livening up wine’s reputation and appealing to a younger market but they are certainly not a new invention.
Early for a recent dinner at The Cadogan, a Belmond Hotel on Sloane Street, I sat at their beautiful bar waiting for my friends to arrive and got chatting to barmen Luca Parimbelli and Francesco Mancuso. I wanted an aperitif that was fresh, fun yet also sophisticated and was recommended a French 75, a combination of gin, champagne, lemon juice and sugar syrup.
“A French 75 is one of the oldest cocktails there is,” says Parimbelli, “Sparkling wine works well but you can use red, white, cognac… We make a lot of negronis and that has vermouth”. “The classics are still going strong,” adds Mancuso. “And we don’t see that stopping any time soon”.
As with wine tasting itself, finding your ideal wine cocktail is all about experimentation and practise, so search out those recipes or order one at the bar. With wine starring as a lead ingredient, this is just another way to customise your personal enjoyment of this fantastic beverage.
Naked Wine of the week
Stefano di Blasi Vermentino IGT
Toscana 2021, £21.99
NAKED WINES Angel Price £12.99 (see how below)
If I cannot fly off to the warm hills of Tuscany, then at least I can savour a sip or two and imagine myself there. This crisp Italian Vermentino speaks of orchard blossoms, ripe citrus and a lick of salinity like a welcome sea breeze. Winemaker Stefano was behind Meghan Markle’s rumoured favourite wine, the premium and pricy Tignanello, so to have his wines available at this price is a steal!
Libby recommends
Arthur Metz Organic Crémant d’Alsace £15 Ocado
A pleasantly uplifting organic sparkling from Alsace in Northern France. The bubbles are fine and vibrant, creating a wonderful effervescence and there are some terrific fresh floral and crisp orchard fruit notes to the wine. Serve this well chilled and it makes for a delightful aperitif with a seductive power behind its refinement.
Bodega Lanzaga Tabuerniga Rioja £92
Berry Bros & Rudd
A sensational organic Rioja from a top-class producer. Only 4,000 bottles of this exceptional red have been made and it certainly tastes special. Deliciously precise and pure red and black fruits combine with cherry blossoms and subtle spice to creating this stunning wine.
Vilarnau Chestnut-Aged Xarel-lo £17 Ocado
Something a bit different for the wine lovers who appreciate complexity in their glass. Xarel-lo is usually part of a blend in Spanish sparkling Cava, but here it is holding court solo as a magnificent still white. Old vines and barrel age evoke a sophisticated wine of concentrated depth and flavour.
City AM x Naked Wines
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