Cheers to the New Year with Tinto de Verano

Happy 2024!

I can't believe a whole year has gone by already. I think the older you get, the faster each year goes by. But we are still in Spain and enjoying being with family so I'm not really thinking that much about time. I'm just enjoying the moment.

We've discovered a couple of favorite drinks during this trip to Spain. One would have been perfect for New Year's Eve...if we could have stayed up that late. (We're grandparents, remember?)

When people think of Spain, they most likely think of the popular drink of sangria or the wine punch made with wine, fruit juice, sweeteners, and fresh-cut fruits with brandy or flavored liqueurs occasionally added to the recipe. They will even sell sangria in bottles ready to drink here in Spain. During this visit we have learned about Tinto de Verano or “red of summer” wine cocktail. It seems to be everyone’s favorite drink right now. It looks like sangria but it’s even easier to prepare so that’s a big plus. You can also buy it in cans, ready to drink and Nick keeps a supply at his house.

Basically, it is red wine with equal parts lemon soda. In Spain, they use the popular lemon Fanta soda drink, in the U.S. you can use 7-up or Sprite.

Use a fruity red Spanish wine such as garnacha or grenecha or pinot noir. You don’t want a fancy wine with too complex of flavors. Nick likes his with red vermouth.

If you use wine instead of red vermouth, add 1 ounce of vermouth per glass for extra flavor.

If you don’t use lemon Fanta, you can use 1/2 lemonade and 1/2 club soda (to equal the amount of wine). Or you can use equal parts 7-up or Sprite, as the wine. 🍷

Add lemon wedges to garnish the drink.

Our other favorite drink on this trip we sampled at a tour of Tio Pepe bodega that was established in 1844 in Jerez. Lauren wanted to do a tour of a bodega before she left so we scheduled an English tour of this one that is about 20 minutes from Nick’s house.

There are bodegas all over in this part of Spain that is called “the sherry triangle”. It’s the only part of the world that makes sherry and bodegas are like wineries only they make sherry. The one I loved was a sweet sparkling sherry wine served with ice called Croft Twist (the one on the right).

It is a take on a refreshing Andalusian drink (this part of Spain is called Andalusia) or’rebujito’ of sherry and lemonade laden with ice and a garnish of mint.

Nick says it’s so popular here you can buy it in the grocery stores. Sure enough, there it was the next time we went grocery shopping.

It would have been the perfect drink to toast at NewYear's but we were babysitting while Nick and Sachiyo went out to celebrate. We were our usual party pooper selves on this New Year’s Eve and couldn’t even stay up until midnight.

If you were not a party pooper, I hope you had a very Happy New Year's and may 2024 bring all of us peace and joy in the coming year surrounded by those you love.

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