Hola Vintnerds!
Erin and I are back from 10 magical days in Europe, exploring Catalonia and attending the first weekend of the new Era’s Tour in Paris. It was truly an incredible trip that we couldn’t wait to recap for you-until we immediately caught Covid after (well, technically it’s only me testing positive but we have the same symptoms).
So while we are still in recovery, we didn’t want to send you into the first weekend of summer without some drink suggestions! So here are some new favorites from our trip that were perfect during long days of sightseeing. They will be making regular appearances on our patios this weekend and all summer long.
Cava Sangria
While in Barcelona, we mostly drank Cava. It’s made close by and is a favorite for locals, while sangria is really more of a Spanish drink. But when we saw Cava Sangria on the menu, we had to try it.
Sangria in Spain doesn’t have as much alcohol in it, and is often a combination of red wine with lemonade. When I spied the restaurant making ours however, I realized it was made with Fanta, a favorite in Spain. I used orange in this recipe, since that’s what we had, but you can change it up.
Recipe
2 L Orange Fanta (or other orange soda if you can’t find it)
1 C limeade
1 bottle Cava
3-5 dashes orange bitter
Mint leaves
Citrus slices (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit)
Combine everything in a pitcher. Serve with ice.
Lillet Tonic
In the shadow of the construction barrier wall around Notre Dame Cathedral, we sat at a café made L’Esmerelda (no, really) and ordered two rounds of Lillet tonics. Lillet is a very French summer drink, though it can be very sweet. The tonic added the perfect notes of bitters and made the drink extra refreshing (they even gave us ice!). This is the perfect drink when it’s hot and you don’t want to over do it.
Recipe
Lillet Blanc or Rosé
Tonic water
Lemon and cucumber slice
Ice
Add ice to a highball glass and fill 1/3 with Lillet, then top with tonic water. Garnish with a lemon wedge and cucumber slice.
Fig Liqueur
We had this on the last day of our trip to pour over sorbet and it was the perfect refreshing palette cleanser. While fig liqueurs are easy enough to find, they’re even easier to make if you plan ahead.
Recipe
1 pound ripe figs (fresh, dried, or frozen)
½ cup sugar
2 cups Everclear or vodka
1-2 vanilla beans
Roughly chop the figs and mix with the sugar. Place in a large glass jar and add liquor and vanilla bean.
Seal the jar tightly and shake vigorously. Leave it in the fridge for 3 weeks to infuse.
After infusion, use a cheesecloth to strain out the figs.
We highly recommend enjoying it with dessert, as a digestif, or as in a spritz.
Figgy Spritz
3 parts Cava
2 parts fig liqueur
1 part soda water
Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon peel and thyme leaves.