Naked Vine One-Hitter: Bubbly Cocktails for Spring with Zonin Prosecco

Ladies and gentlemen, pardon the long winter hibernation. There’s a lot happening on the home front here at Vine HQ, which I’ll catch all y’all up on before too long.

In the meantime, however, the Wine Fairy dropped a bottle off at the door which, if you’ve been around here awhile, you’ll probably recognize: Zonin “Cuvee 1821” Prosecco Brut.

This particular sparkler’s shown up here from time to time over the years, and it’s a consistently solid performer, especially at an ~$13 price point. On its own, it’s is on the dry-but-fruity side. I found it had a gentle, blossomy nose of apples and pineapples. Green apple and lemon flavors on the palate are balanced with a touch of almond and a zippy acidity. The finish is fruity, with more of those pineapples lingering at the end.

Thankfully, spring is just around the corner – and Prosecco, while a year ‘round beverage, has a warm season flavor to me. This winter, I’ve been grooving on cocktail making – and with the bulk of this bottle to work with, I decided to try mixing up a couple of springtime drinks with the stuff I have around, using the Zonin as a base.

First off, there’s the good old Aperol Spritz, the warm weather champ which I’ve written about before:

3 oz. Prosecco 

2 oz. Aperol

1 oz. club soda

The classic sunshine beverage. Pour the Aperol into a wine glass filled with ice, top with Prosecco and top with the club soda. Garnish with an orange wheel. The sweet/bitter flavors play off each other in a particularly refreshing way.

Moving on a bit, there’s the breath of springtime that is the French 77.

2 oz. Prosecco

1 ½ oz. Gin

¾ oz. Elderflower liqueur (like St. Germain)

½ oz. lemon juice

Mix the gin, elderflower, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe glass. Add the prosecco and a lemon twist. Drop the twist into the drink and enjoy the lovely fragrances.

Sticking with gin here, if you’re a fan of a Negroni, but you’re hoping for something with a little more sparkle, try this take – the Sbagliato (which means “bungled” in Italian)

1 ½ oz. sweet vermouth

1 ½ oz. Campari

1 ½ oz. Prosecco

In a rocks glass filled with ice, add the vermouth and Campari and stir. Add the Prosecco and stir again. Sip and enjoy.

Finally, if you’re a fan of aged rums, this riff on the Old Cuban is a crowdpleaser, especially on nights where the springtime temps can still drop:

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon water

1 ½ oz. dark rum

¾ oz. lime juice

1 ½ oz. Prosecco

Angostura bitters and a mint leaf for garnish

Combine the honey and water in a small glass bowl and microwave for 15 seconds. Stir to combine. Let cool.

Add the honey syrup, rum, and lime juice to a shaker with ice. Shake for 15-20 seconds. Strain into a martini or coupe glass. Top with Prosecco, then a dash of bitters and the mint leaf.

Enjoy!

Rosés for Mother’s Day

The time’s come again, folks – Mother’s Day. The day to thank Mom for changing our diapers, wiping our tears, and laying the foundation for all of us to become the lovable lushes that we are. Many of us will be hosting some sort of brunch, lunch, dinner, or drinking jag on some front porch or other.

Anyone can get a bunch of roses for the celebration. I suggest sticking with the pale red color family and snag a bunch of rosés! What says love for your maternal unit like wine, I ask you?

Depending on where you find yourself on Mother’s Day, there’s a bottle of pink goodness that can accompany you.

For Brunch

If you’re doing brunch, you’re going to want bubbly. While I ordinarily recommend bloody marys for All Things Brunch, this is a celebration, dammit! Celebrations call for sparkly things. And if you’re feeling really, really classy (and don’t mind paying through the nose), you could snag a bottle of Charles Heidsieck Champagne Rosé Réserve.

This rosy bottle from “Champagne Charlie” is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. This lovely, fruity sipper packs a load of flavor. Strawberries and a little bit of baking spice start the nose. The bubbles are soft and velvety, adding a luscious creaminess and lots of berry flavors on the palate. The finish is delicate, creamy, and slightly tart. Truly a lovely wine, one which carries a special occasion pricetag of $70-80.

Now, if you don’t want to go full-on walletbusting, but you’d still like to have the benefit of a bubbly brunch, you could go with a less expensive domestic alternative. One suggestion might be the Mumm Napa Brut Rosé from California. The distinctive delicacy and creaminess of Champagne may be missing, but many of the same flavors are there – although they lean more towards cherry than strawberry. Still a lovely bottle of bubbles – one you can find for $20-25.

For Dinner

If an evening meal is on your agenda, especially if you’re visiting one of your local dining establishments, everyone around the table might want something different. To limit any potential for familiar disagreement when the wine list comes around, I recommend that you consider a full-bodied rosé for the table. While rosé is often considered a delicate drink, many are now built with firmer fruit backbones to stand up to broader ranges of cuisine.

So long as Mom’s not insisting on steak au poivre, you certainly could get away with a bottle like the Villa Gemma 2015 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Rosé. This rosé is made from one of my all-time “just drink it” grapes, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. (Cerasuolo is the town near where the grapes are sourced.) It’s considerably darker in hue than most rosé. In the bottle, the wine could easily be confused for a lighter red, like a Chianti. It pours bright ruby red with a medium weight body and flavors of cranberry and cherry. Despite the fruitiness, it’s quite dry and somewhat acidic on the finish, which would make it practically ideal for a varied table. $12.

For Cocktails

Several months back, I mentioned a rosé shortage because of the huge uptick in the wine’s popularity over the last few years. Wine supplies (other than high-end limited production wines) tend to trail a couple of years behind consumer demand. Some rosé producers may have overshot a bit when it comes to the most recent vintage.

In the wine stores I frequent, I keep running into very decent bottles of French rosé -- often Provence rosé, which can be quite pricey – for $6-8. If you’ve gone to the store and rightfully stocked up, you know know that dry rosé is actually a pretty good choice for a cocktail mixer. They’re usually somewhat acidic, have low sugar content and light body, and have those soft fruit notes that perk up mixed drinks. With that in mind, here are a couple of potential recipes you can use to surprise Dear Mum:

Rosénade

1 (5 oz.) glass rosé; 1 oz. citrus vodka; 2 basil leaves, ripped; lemon wedge; ½ oz. simple syrup; 1 ½ club soda.

Muddle basil, lemon, and syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and add vodka and wine. Stir, then pour into glasses. Top with club soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Rosé Bouquet

3 oz. rosé; 1 ½ oz. gin; ¾ oz. Lillet; 3 oz. red grapefruit juice; sprig of rosemary.

Fill a lowball glass ¾ full with ice. Add ingredients in order. Stir. Garnish with rosemary and a wedge of grapefruit.

Pink Glow

5 oz. rosé (use a full-flavored one); 2 oz. bourbon; 1 oz. orange juice.

Add to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into martini glasses and garnish with an orange wedge.

The Mosé

2 strawberries, sliced; 1 tsp. sugar; 2 oz. white tequila; 1 oz. fresh lemon juice; 2 oz. dry rosé

Muddle strawberries and sugar in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and other ingredients. Shake well. Pour into a rocks glass.