What is a Wine Spritzer and How to Make it?
A wine spritzer is the perfect refreshing drink to enjoy on a hot summer day, over a brunch with friends, or to chill with in the evening. They’re light, fun, and delicious, and because they’re mixed with fizzy water they’re milder than a regular glass of wine. What’s not to love?
Below, you’ll find out everything you need to know about what a spritzer is and how to make a spritzer. Wine spritzers are very easy to make, and we also include recipes for making spritzers – which can be made with white, red or rose wine depending on your preferences.
In this blog post we’ll answer the following questions
- What is a (wine) Spritzer?
- What’s the best wine for a Spritzer?
- How to make a Spritzer?
- An easy Wine Spritzer Recipe
- Wines we’d recommend for a Spritzer
First off: What is a Spritzer?
Generally speaking, a spritzer is a chilled drink that’s usually made with white wine and carbonated/fizzy water, like soda water. You can use white, red or rose wine to make a spritzer, so it really depends what type of wine you like. Because they may also contain ice and are chilled, wine spritzers are popular drinks in the summer and when the weather is warmer.
Now let’s cover a bit more about what’s in a spritzer. A basic wine spritzer is made with three simple ingredients: wine, sparkling or soda water and ice.
Spritzer Ingredient #1: Wine
Wine is the base of the spritzer and the most important ingredient. Red wine gives you a richer, deeper flavour, while white wines or rosé wines are lighter and fruitier. Choose your wine according to the type of flavour you want in your spritzer, and choose organic wine wherever possible of course.
Spritzer Ingredient #2: Soda Water
When most people make wine spritzers, they use regular soda or sparkling water. However, if you’re making a wine spritzer with a drier wine, you might consider using a tonic water or lemonade. These can add a bit more flavour and sweetness to the spritzer.
Spritzer Ingredient #3: Ice
This is an optional ingredient. A spritzer is meant to be refreshing and chilled, so ice can make it even cooler, especially on a warm summer day.
A note about garnishes, other ingredients and glasses
You can get creative with garnishes for your spritzers. Lemon, herbs, pomegranate seeds … again it all comes down to what you prefer, but a spritzer can indeed be a beautiful drink. Spritzers are most often served in a wine glass, although you could enjoy them in a tumbler or other glass as well.
What is the best wine to use for a spritzer?
The true beauty of the spritzer is that it will work with any wine that you like, whether red, white or rosé. We of course recommend using organic wines – for whites, you can go with a white wine like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, or whatever other white you prefer. Same for red wine and rosé wine spritzers – choose one that you like for a spritzer. When it comes to how much wine and how much soda water to use, the good thing about spritzers is that you can vary them to suit your tastes. However, we recommend starting with a 3:1 pour of 1 part soda or water for every 3 parts of wine.
How to Make a Spritzer
Want to know how to make a spritzer? It’s actually a lot easier than you’d think!
How much wine and how much soda? While you can vary the ratio of your spritzer to fit your taste and a particular wine, it’s often best to begin with a 3:1 pour of 1 part soda or water for every 3 parts of wine, but you can also try half and half or add in less soda depending on your preferences.
Classic Wine Spritzer Recipe – Your Easy Wine Sprizter Recipe
If you enjoy the classic, this is the spritzer recipe for you. With the light, fruity white wine and a splash of club soda, it’s the perfect way to relax on a weekend.
Ingredients:
- Organic wine of choice (white, rosé or red)
- Soda water
- Ice
Preparation:
- Place the white wine into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before mixing (you wouldn’t want the ice to melt too quickly).
- Fill your wine glass halfway with ice (smaller pieces, not large chunks). Pour 125ml (small glass measure) of wine into the glass, add about 50ml of soda water (about 1/4 cup), and stir gently with a straw or stir-spoon. Garnish and enjoy.
Note: you can also use lemonade, tonic water or a blend of these and soda water … spritzers are very versatile.
Wines we’d recommend for a Spritzer
You can use pretty much any wine to make a spritzer, but here are two whites, two rosés and two reds we’d recommend for a wine spritzer.
£9.99
£11.99
£11.50
Original price was: £11.75.£10.90Current price is: £10.90.
£10.50
£10.25
Why Spritzers?
Now that we know what a spritzer is, we get down to the really important question: ‘Why make spritzers?’ The answer is actually fairly simple:
- They’re milder/lighter: If you drink two or three glasses of white or red wine, you’ll feel the effects! However, spritzers have been watered down, so they’re a milder drink. You can enjoy two or three spritzers without feeling such a strong buzz. It can also reduce your alcohol and calorie consumption too.
- They’re sweet or dry: You can make it your own perfect way to satisfy your cravings without overdoing it. Adjust the soda, tonic or lemonade and, combined with the rich flavours of the wine, and you have an amazing drink!
- They’re refreshing: A glass of chilled wine is wonderfully relaxing, but because of the ice it’s not always as cold and uplifting as a proper spritzer. If you need something to enjoy after a long day of work on a warm day, a spritzer can hit the spot.
- They’re versatile: Just like the wine itself, spritzers are a drink that can be served anywhere and at any time. They make the perfect drink for an outdoor summer party, a cocktail evening, a garden party, or even a brunch.
A quick note about the Original ‘Aperol’ Spritz
A popular Spritz drink/cocktail these days is the Aperol Spritz cocktail, which originated in northern Italy in 1919. It is made with Aperol (bitters), Prosecco and soda water.
At the moment there isn’t an organic version of ‘Aperol’ but we stock a spritz from Walcher that we think is pretty much the same thing.
Ingredients:
- 3 parts quality organic Prosecco
- 2 parts Walcher Veneziano Organic Spritz
- 1 part soda or tonic water
- lots of ice
Organic Spritz Ingredients
£13.99
£16.50
We at Vintage Roots can respect a spritzer, and we believe they’re one of the best drinks you can make with wine. If you’re looking for something new and creative to do with your bottle of wine, try spritzers.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post about what a spritzer is and how to make wine spritzers. Check out our full range of organic wines to start making your spritzer today and a cheers to thinking and drinking organic 🥂
