Wine Spritzers
Wine & Food
Wine spritzers
On a hot summer’s day, a well-chilled wine spritzer – consisting in roughly equal parts of fresh white wine and sparkling mineral water – is pure enjoyment. The classic is a Riesling spritzer, because this grape variety contains a fresh, fruity acidity and aromas reminiscent of apples, peach and grapefruit. However, other grape varieties are excellently suited as well:
If you prefer a milder acidity, you might like to try using Müller-Thurgau or Silvaner as the wine component.
These days, rosé spritzer is becoming more and more fashionable. It’s a bit more expressive on the palate than a white spritzer and boasts a lovely summerly colour.
And, of course, red wine spritzers have their devotees as well. If you’re one of them, you should preferably use grape varieties that are low in tannins, such as Portugieser, Pinot Noir and Meunier (Schwarzriesling), since tannins and carbonic acid do not harmonize.
Combined with mineral water, the chosen wine makes for a fruity-fresh summer drink.
It's all in the mix
Traditionally, you mix wine and water in equal parts for a spritzer. The resulting drink has an alcohol content of 5-6 % vol. If you prefer a stronger drink, you might increase the wine ratio a little.
As a rule, you use dry wine for a spritzer, but that’s as much a matter of personal taste as it is with wine in general. Using semi-dry or even sweet wine simply results in a less tangy spritzer.
The water used for the spritzer should have as little of its own taste as possible, otherwise it might cover the wine’s aromas too much. As far as the carbonic acid content is concerned, we suggest medium to strongly sparkling mineral water. And if you have a really sweet tooth, you can try and prepare your wine spritzer with lemon soda rather than mineral water.
