Wine cocktails have few vocal fans, yet customers repeatedly have proven that they embrace the concept.
If you doubt that, try putting red, white or sparkling sangria on your menu and watch beverage sales jump.
And these days, the relentless pressure to craft new seasonal drink lists has pushed many beverage professionals to consider wine as an ingredient in other cocktails, too.
“As a sommelier, I felt almost expected to have at least one wine cocktail on the list at all times,” said Fred Dexheimer, a New York-based wine and beverage consultant. “There are inherent flavors in different wines that always work with the different seasons, so I always played around with it.”
Cocktails made with table wine aren’t new, simply a style that has fallen out of fashion. One advantage wine has over spirits in cocktails is its potency, or rather, its lack of it.
“I’m always very aware of alcohol content and not blowing out a customer’s palate,” said Lynn House, a former wine buyer and now chief mixologist at Blackbird in Chicago. “Wine cocktails can offer a perfect solution for customers who want something light and easy and not too boozy.”
In a drink made with a 12-percent-alcohol wine as the base, once mixers and ice are added, it might end up having around 9-percent alcohol.
Last winter at Blackbird, House featured the Jalisco Sunset, made with reposado tequila, poached pear, agave nectar and a reduction of Pinot Noir drizzled on top of the finished drink, a riff on the original Tequila Sunset drink, which contains blackberry brandy. This summer she featured a cocktail made with Pinot Gris, grapefruit juice and sweetened fennel syrup.
The Pinot Noir reduction is less sweet than the brandy and adds more complex flavors to the drink, as do the slightly vegetal qualities of the Pinot Gris. Especially in the Pinot Gris-based drink, lower alcohol levels allow customers to quaff and, not incidentally, order another.
There’s also the potential financial benefit: Wine cocktails are especially cost effective.
“I generally use something in the glass-pour range, so we’re talking about a $9 bottle that yields 15 $12 cocktails,” House said.
Michelle Magidow, co-owner of sister restaurants Lark and Licorous in Seattle, said her customers welcomed a robust drink made with Sémillon, rye and amaro during the Pacific Northwest’s rainy spring.
The logical first thought for a novice wine-cocktail maker is to craft a long drink, but even small amounts of wine can elevate a Martini-style drink. Magidow said the range of fruit flavors in table wine means as little as one-quarter ounce can be an effective flourish.
When crafting new wine cocktails, whites, especially those low in tannin, tend to offer the most flexibility. Consultant Dexheimer is partial to Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, but he also has used Grüner Veltliner and more esoteric varieties. Reds tend to do better with fall and winter menus, although some make a perfect match with fresh berries. Dexheimer favors varieties with softer tannins and juicy fruit, like Pinot Noir or Grenache.
While bartenders have expanded their knowledge base considerably in the past few years, wine still can seem intimidating to them and many servers, so educating staff and customers is key to moving these drinks.
Customers these days are generally open to the suggestions of bartenders they trust, and have become quick adopters of even the most unusual concepts — as long as they deliver flavor and refreshment. And that’s the ultimate point of experimenting with wine when crafting a cocktail list: another winning taste experience for the customer.
Jack Robertiello is a longtime beverage reporter and former editor of Cheers magazine. He is a judge at beverage competitions and a frequent speaker at industry events. He can be reached at applejak@earthlink.net. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Nation's Restaurant News.
