Tinto de Verano
Posted by ReadyMade
Photo by Bryan McCay
Raise a glass to warmer weather.
After a weeklong trip to Madrid, I came to think of Tinto de Verano as sangria’s dressed-down cousin. It’s less flashy and doesn’t try too hard—in a great way. The name means “summer wine,” and the drink is made from just two ingredients: the cheapest red wine you can find and sparkling lemonade. It is spritzy, easy drinking, and much less sweet than sangria. This drink goes down easy under a hot sun and is one of the few beverages that just keeps getting better as the ice melts into it. —Super Natural Every Day, by Heidi Swanson, $23, Ten Speed Press, available at 101cookbooks.com
Skill Level
Very Easy
Active Time
Less than an hour
Cost
$
- Ice cubes
- 750 ml bottle inexpensive Spanish red wine, like Rioja
- Sparkling (naturally sweetened) lemonade or any not-too-sweet lemon-lime beverage, like Lorina
- Fresh lemon slices
Materials
- Glasses
Tools
Fill each glass (juice glasses work well) with as many ice cubes as you can fit.
Add ½ cup of wine and ½ cup of sparkling lemonade.
Stir. Taste. It should be light and refreshing and not overly juicy in flavor. Sometimes the less expensive wine you get here in the States is very concentrated and grapey. If that is the case, dilute the mixture with a bit more sparkling lemonade as desired.
Serve with a lemon slice.
