When my red wine "ages" because it's been uncorked and in my refrigerator for a day or so, I freshen it with an amaro, like cocchi rosa or cappeletti. I then have an aperitif reminiscent of sangria.
Made this and wasn’t a home run at all. I’d say just drink the rose and call it a day.
Can I offer another theory on the origin of the drink known as Kir. I lived in Paris for a few years in the early 1970's, and my Parisian mentor insisted that Kir was invented a couple of hundred years ago to mask the taste of poor quality white wine. He was a young man at the end of WW II living in Paris (a life-long Parisian, except for the time during WW II he fled to the south of France) so he would know whether the drink originated during or after WWII. He, like all the other Frenchmen I knew, despised the drink.
I know this could get me shot at sunrise, but here's what I do. I use a inexpensive, sparkling pinot grigio (sort of a kir royale), more creme de cassis than recommended, lime juice, and ice cubes. So, yes, like a wine cooler but exceedingly refreshing for a warm summer evening.
My idea of Summer Drinking at its Simplest is to chug a well chilled bottle of anything.
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I like to order my Kir “with just a blush”..light on the cassis. Very refreshing aperitif. Especially when it is hot outside!
Referring to my comment below, the term "of feeble spirit" should have been replaced by "weaktoothed". Yes, this would be a new word that enters into the vocabulary via Food Section.
My idea of a wine cocktail is to dump a cocktail into a glass of wine. Cheers!
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Sounds delicious on hot summer afternoon.
@ Tuwv
Then you have never experienced a Gesprizten on a hot summer day, in the shade, enveloped by honeysuckle scent.
I remember a restaurant on the Ile in Paris. 1990s. It was vegetarian. Had a Kir Royale to start. I thought I was in heaven. I was.
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Erin Sylvester’s comment about organic wine with natural yeast got me curious so I’ve found several articles on “wild fermentation” as opposed to industrial yeast. Also, Biodynamics and Rudolph Steiner? I’d still like to know more. Perhaps a follow-up article and a recommendation on wines and vineyards that practice this method?
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@Janet Fry The problem with wild fermentation is that you have no control over the final taste of the product. Yeasts can have tremendous influences on the final taste (and body) of a wine. You might like a particular wine one year, but not the next, due to yeast(s) involved.
I like red wine and Sprite. Not for everyone perhaps, but I drink what I like and you can do the same.
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@Madeline Conant. I agree. I drink what I like and you can do the same. And you can drink what you want and I can do the same. Not sure there's much difference but its worth repeating...to be continued...
I had a friend who drank scotch and coke. When we all wrinkled our nose at that, she would say, “when you’re paying for it, you can tell me what to drink.” Hard to argue with that!
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@Madeline Conant
good for you.
Sorry, I regard "wine cocktails" as denatured wine, and wine mixed with water as a drink for children or those of feeble spirit.
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Sorry you feel so firmly negative. Have another wine cooler....
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@Tuvw Xyz. Don't even mention feeble spirit. I shrivel up instantly.