Wine Spritzer

Ahhh…the wine spritzer. The summer drink that refreshes and relaxes—but is it just for summer? The spritzer has become almost a staple at happy hour, and continues to grow in popularity. Don’t confuse wine spritzers with the wine cooler, however. Those who enjoy their afternoon spritzer will frown upon you.

Where Did the Spritzer Come From?

As you may have guessed from the word “spritzer”, the name comes from Germanic origins. “Spritz” literally means “to spray” in German, where carbonated lemonade has been combined with wine for decades in Germany, Hungary, and Romania.

Ingredients for Wine Spritzers

You can make a wine spritzer from just about any combination of wine and carbonated soda. Most of the time, people use white wine for their spritzers, with carbonated lemonade for the “spritz”. Sprite is often used as the seltzer in this case. But, that is the more mundane version of a wine spritzer!
The spritzer is totally adaptable, and with the many different combinations available, provides a refreshing treat on these hot summer afternoons. You can make it sweet, like a tasty punch, or you can make it crisp and dry. Either way, the touch of wine will add flavor and a hint of relaxation to the spritz, while the seltzer itself creates the bubbly refreshment. Chilled appropriately, your spritzer becomes elevated to a new level of adaptability.
The best wine spritzers will result from fresh soda water. Many people buy a two liter bottle and use it during the week. However, soda water goes flat quickly. For the best wine spritzer, your soda water should be used on the day it is opened. So, buy small bottles of soda water and keep them in the refrigerator, nice and cold, so that you always have a fresh bottle available for your drink.

What Kind of Soda Water?

You can use seltzer water, soda water or club soda in your wine spritzer. All of these are simply seltzer water, and perfect for your drink. Tonic water is absolutely horrible for your wine spritzer, as it contains Quinine. That tastes just awful with wine. Anything other than soda water, seltzer, or club soda will contain sweeteners and minerals that simply don’t work with the wine.

Recipes for Wine Spritzers:

The wine spritzer is easy to prepare with chilled white wine and soda water. The sweetness or dryness of your drink depends on the type of wine you choose, if you’ve gotten the soda water recommended. If you want it bubblier, add more soda water. You can even makes it so light and fresh that you can sip on it all day long without worrying about a hangover the next day. If you want a little more alcohol, just add it. Most mixes are 50/50, but you can tilt that any way you want.

For an extra twist drop a couple of frozen berries in your drink, it adds flavor and color. A wine spritzer can be the perfect relaxing way to end to your day.