Tag Archives: spritz

Our Favorite Bottle For Spritzing

If it’s summer at Bottles you can be sure we’re spritzing. We’re taking a few of our favorite bottles, mixing them with seltzer or sparkling wine, pouring them over ice in a big wine glass and enjoying the good life.

For the fizz in our spritzers this year, we’re turning to the Anno Domini 47 Prosecco, aka the AD47. It’s a beautiful bottle we brought in a few months back and one that has already become a store best-seller. It’s made from organically-grown grapes, is light and bubbly but also incredibly round, smooth and creamy, without a bitterness that some prosecco has. It’s incredibly drinkable and fantastic on its own, though priced gently enough ($13.99) to be used as the frizzante that you’ll need in your spritz.

Last year our wine director Melissa visited the winery where the AD47 is made, in the Treviso region of Veneto, about 40 minutes north of Venice. (Check out the darling little glera grapes on the vines, below.) There she learned that the wine is named after the year in which construction ended on the Claudius Augustus, one of the most important Roman roads, and along which much of the winery’s vineyards grow.

The packaging is a knock-out too: A simple and elegant label paired with the traditional prosecco closure of a straight-sided cork and string (spago). To open, simply remove the string and gently but firmly use a corkscrew to withdraw the cork. Although prosecco doesn’t have as much pressure in the bottle as does Champagne, you should always take care when opening bubbles, and always be sure you’re opening a chilled bottle.

To make a spritz of your own, here’s our Spritzer 101 guide, with recipes and inspiration.

Happy Summer!

price subject to change

 

SPRITZER 101

spritz_poster_web
They’re baaaack….

They’re fresh and fizzy and fun. They’re light and refreshing on hot summer afternoons.

They’re spritzers, and we’re such huge fans of them that we’ve decided to declare this season the Summer of Spritzers.

The spritzers we’re talking about are descendants of the wine drinks made famous (some say infamous) in the 1980’s. Back in that diet-crazed decade, some wine drinkers added ice and seltzer water to their glasses in order to tamp down the vino’s calories and alcoholic punch. Eventually, serious wine aficionados took issue with those alterations (sacré bleu!), and the spritzer fizzled out.

Fast forward to today, where we think that – especially in the summer – keeping drinks light and low-alcohol is a good thing. No, make that a great thing. We believe there’s no shame in adding soda water to your wine to lighten the potency and to add a lift! We believe there’s no shame in adding ice cubes to your glass, to keep the chill up and the power down! Especially when you use the right ingredients.

We hope you agree, and will join us in this Summer of Spritzers!

Herewith, our guidelines for making tasty spritzers that you can drink with pride.

Basic Spritzer Recipe:
Add equal parts fresh & fruity still white wine (see below for our picks) and soda water to a glass over a few cubes of ice and stir. Garnish, if you’d like.

Already have a bottle of fizzy wine – or just want to add more character to your glass? Just add juice, and/or a low-alcohol aperitif.

Best wines for spritzing:
Choose fresh & fruity whites and rosés such as riesling (dry and off dry), chenin blanc, gewurztraminer and gruner veltliner — essentially anything but chardonnay. If you want to start with bubbles, look for prosecco, lambrusco, cava, cremant d’alsace.
Best garnishes for spritzers:
For white wines, lemon, limes and grapefruit. For rosé, try fresh strawberries and cherries. Leafy herbs, such as mint and basil, work best for both.
Great additions:
Grapefruit juice, lemonade, St-Germain, Aperol, Cocchi Americano, Lillet Blanc & Rosé, Plymouth Gin
Helpful hints:
-Play with your ratios to suit your mood.
-To ensure optimal fizz, pour still ingredients first. Finish/top off with the bubbles.
-Be sure to use fresh soda water – no one likes a limp spritz!
Bottles’ Favorite Spritzers

The KaiserSpritzer
Add to a glass filled with ice 3oz of Gruner Veltliner, a big splash of St-Germain and 2oz of soda water. Stir, and garnish with fresh mint.

The Eastside Spritzer (aka Bottles’ House Spritzer)
Combine over ice in a tall glass 4oz of white wine, 2oz of soda water, a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Stir and drink deeply.

The Aperol Spritz
To a rocks glass filled with ice add 2oz Aperol, 4oz prosecco and 2oz soda water. Stir, and garnish with an orange slice.

Enjoy your Spritzing!

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