It’s amazing where you can find a brief vacation when there’s not actually time to get away.
Mostly all you need is a brightly colored Mexican cloth and a sunset colored cocktail.
I’m aaallll sorts of ready to let these summer days wash over me, but my reality is much more indoor work style than outdoor beach style. Is this your reality too? It’s cool. It’s totally cool. We have wine, fancy fruit soda, warm air, late sunsets, and a few good friends to share it all with. We won’t need much more.
Can we talk about this crazy awesome spritzer combination? Clementine aaannnddd red wine!? It’s unexpected. It’s a high-five. Trust me on this one!
This seemingly abstract cocktail combination was inspired by a weekend in Austin Texas at the Hotel San Jose. They’re clever with their cocktails, friendly in their service, and right on in their design. Love this place!!
I love that I could take a little piece of the Hotel San Jose pool with me home to Los Angeles.
It’s totally the drink I can stand around on in a striped dress and make on a Sunday. Welcome to my life.
This is an easy one!
Fill a tall glass with ice. Fill the glass a third of the way full with clementine soda.
Is clementine soda just a fancy name for orange soda? Sorta…
Fill the remainder of the glass with sparkling red wine. Yea!! We’re fancy and we know it!
I used a dry Lambrusco for this spritzer. It was delicious!
My friend Whitney who knows eighteen thousand more things about wine than I do also suggests a light to medium body red, something unoaked, like a Granache, Gamay or Frapatto. Wine words! Get into it!
Just look at this happiness! I love cocktail rainbows.
Actually… I think I mean rainbow cocktails.
This mixture of cold sparkling wine with sweet clementine soda is completely surprising and happily refreshing. It’s like sangria with less fruit and more red wine. It’s different… and I mean that totally in a good way. If you’re having a few friends over for a few happy cocktails, this cocktail is an ingenious way to serve something beautiful and stretch your one bottle of wine to satisfy many. Think of this drink as a delicious, rainbow party, wine stretcher. AKA: heck yes!!
Clementine and Red Wine Spritzers
makes 4 cocktails
1 bottle red wine (anything light to medium boxy, unoaked, not super sweet) (think dry Lambrusco (yay, it’s sparkling!!), Granche, Frappatto, Gamay)
2 bottled clementine soda
ice and straws
Fill each glass with ice. Fill each glass a third of the way full with clementine soda. Top with wine and serve immediately!
Jodie Chapman
I am not sure I could find that clementine soda.From what I can see of the bottle,it looks similar to something I see in the Spanish stores.I know in blog you said just orange soda, but was wondering about a regular orange soda working.Like a Sunkist or something.They are just flavored and colored orange..LOl.But if you have tried that as well I will trust you on that.I need to make this tomorrow night.Thank you in advance.
Moez
Wow, these look incredibly lush!
Allison @ Foodie Heart
HECK YES is right!!! My mom and I just made these for our little family 4th celebration. Let’s just say we may very well finish all the Izze’s and ALL OF THE WINE. Happy 4th!
Charlotte
This is officially going to be my Independence Day drink. Three cheers for ‘merica!
Southside Girl
This is sort of like a summery drink you can get in Spain called tinto de verano, but sort of a short cut. I’m going for it! The fact that it is going to be 118 degrees here this weekend is all the excuse I need.
Emily
Lambrusco makes my heart happy, it is light enough for summer but still red winey enough to feel like a good grown-up pairing with food!
allie@sweetpotatobites
I never thought to pair clementine and sparkling red wine! What a delicious combo.
hotel mhamid
Yum….there are no more words.
Jenn Davis
My sangria obsession has simplified into a wine and sparkling beverages obsession, as well as a sparkling wine and juice obsession, but I’ve never tried red wine with clementine soda. I can’t wait! I too am stuck inside working when I would MUCH rather be out in the sun, but this will make up for that. Thanks!
Bridget
Ugh! So fun and colourful! Wish it was warm enough to warrant some here.
erin @hooleywithaz
oh my gosh. i used to drink these cocktails when i lived in spain called “tinto de verano”, they were made with cheap red wine and orange fanta. they cost about a euro, and they will forever remind me of sevilla. this is like the grown up version of that, and it brought me back!
Virginia DuVall
Love your blog!
Yasmine Brooke
Such a perfect summer drink, definitely my next to try!
Yasmine xx
joelle (on a pink typewriter)
These look so pretty the way they separate. I would never expect those two flavors together though.
Birdy& Bambi
That looks so adorable!
Greetings from Europe from a fellow baker!
http://lasagnolove.blogspot.de/
Bambi
Becca from Cookie Jar Treats
Oohh pretty colors. :) You make alcoholic drinks sound so fancy and classy.
Heidi
Ok, so yesterday was the worst possible day ever. Death in the family, leaking shower into downstairs business, my step-grandma going into hospice. Seriously, all in one day. Soooooooooooo………then this pops into my email and I say, “Perfect day for a drink.” It was lovely. That and a little browned butter mac and cheese and I at least felt human again. Thanks Joy!
Arlene
Fabulous picture of you in Bon Appetit. Congratulations!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Layers of delicious flavors, Joy! I love to get my hands on clementine soda. Yum :)
Jerry Wood
I’m such a wine purist I don’t know if I could put a soda in my red wine! But it sounds like a tasty combo.
i'm pam
fun little drink…the 3rd picture from Hotel San Jose says it all to me. yummy drink away from the hustle and bustle of life. sit back and enjoy!
tracy {pale yellow}
Spritz it! Love the orange and red! A perfectly lovely summer cocktail, I can’t wait to try one for myself!
Nessa
Love the pics!
Jennifer
Yum! We have something in Spain called Tinto de Verano con limon – it is sparkling lemon soda with red wine and ice. So refreshing in the summertime!
eli
DUDE. MOST BEAUTIFUL DRINK EVER.
sounds super delicious. will be drinking the shit out of these, for sure.
Natalee F
I come from a large Italian family and whenever we got together at my grandparents for our weekly family dinner, my parents would allow me a glass of my favorite drink which was ginger ale and my grandfather’s wine. I don’t know how or who introduced it to me and i was probably too young to be imbibing in it (ahem…4 years old and onwards…) but I thought it was delicious. Your drink is similar and it brought back some wonderful memories of my fam. Thank you.
Kristin
This sounds amazing and so refreshing! Can’t wait to try!
3girls1apple
Spritzers are fantastic but they definitely hit you out of nowhere. So be careful and drink cautiously. Thanks for sharing from 3girls1apple.com
Rhonda Sittig
Perfect. We lived in a pueblo in Spain for a number of years and in the summer we’d always drink “tinto de vearno.” which is basically lemon soda with red wine and a chunk of lemon dropped in. –just right on the hottest summer evening with a table of tapas and the right friends.
Rachel @ My Urban Oven
These looks so pretty. I love the pre-mixed separation. I think these will be on the menu for our next BBQ. Sounds like a refreshing summer drink! And you can’t go wrong with adding some vino :)
Eileen
Interesting! It’s almost like sangria without the big fruit chunks, isn’t it? Must try!
J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats
This is like the easiest sangria ever….LOVE.
dixya| food, pleasure, and health
how fun is this. Summer = pretty drinks!
Alexandra
very cool!
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
Oh I LOVE this idea!! I think i might do this for our 4th of July party!
Annie @ Annie's City Kitchen
This looks delightful mostly because I envision it tasting a little bit like Arbor Mist which is just about my favorite “wine” and I don’t care who knows it.
anne taylor
Looks delicious! Definitely going to try this soon!
Nudaperla
This is my first summer without holidays, that is my first summer working. I’ll have three weeks off, but it’s not the same as the good, old three month after school finished. That’s why I’m trying to appreciate late sunsets, friends, ice-creams and fruity sparkling cocktails. Any other suggestions to survive growing up?
Nudaperla
This is my first summer without holidays, that is my first summer working. I’ll have three weeks off, but it’s not the same as the good, old three month after school finished. That’s why I’m trying to appreciate late sunsets, friends, ice-creams and fruity sparkling cocktails. Any other suggestions to survive growing up?
Erica @ In and Around Town
Love the idea of using red wine as your base rather than white! Will definitely be testing this out :)
Jamie @ green beans & grapefruit
I already love lambrusco so I know this is a rockstar cocktail. Thanks for sharing!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
totally into these! what a fabulous idea for summer patio drinks!
Jamie
this is one of the most beautiful cocktails ive ever seen!
Megan
That cocktail looks awesome in vertical stripes! <3
LIA @ DIZZY LOVES ICY
I LOVE this!
Can I get sparkling red wine here in the UK? Hmmm, not sure – off to check it out!
Thanks Joy x
Tieghan
So pretty!
AC
Tinto de verano! I love your spin on my favorite summer drink. Will have to try the clementine soda. Thanks for the beautiful inspiration.
Jayne
I don’t drink alcohol but I’m loving the colours in this beverage.
Kathryn
This sounds lovely and refreshing.
Laura @ Transylvanian Kitchen
Looks good! I’ll try it for sure this summer.
Caroline
Wow! That looks great! Gonna try it out soon! :D
Renee @ Awesome on $20
I live in the place people come for vacation. Being in the middle of the ocean, it’s really expensive to get away. We have to invent mini-vacations all the time, and a cocktail will usually take me there. I love that there are only two ingredients here. That makes it so easy to smuggle to the beach with my grill gear. Mahalo!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Clementine soda and wine – yes, I could down these like no tomorrow!
And they are beautiful, too! Like the grown up version of a tequila sunrise. Multi-colored layered drinks and me go way back :)
Ellen
What a beautiful way to make red wine a year round beverage. I’m into it.