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Each sip of this delicious Tinto de Verano will transport you to the beautiful seaside landscapes of Spain! This wine based cocktail is made summery with fresh fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruit. Oh, and you can’t forget the splash of bubbly lemon lime soda!
My neighbor recently introduced me to tinto de verano and I fell in LOVE. How have I never heard of this drink until now?! I seriously can’t get enough. I’m not a huge red wine drinker but paired with lemon lime soda and fresh citrus? Count me in! I can have glass after glass, haha
My neighbor spent many summers in Spain and had many tinto de veranos, as would I! It is so refreshing and I can’t wait to get my butt to Spain to have the authentic thing!
This one is the closest to it as a Spanish friend gave me this recipe that her family uses after she heard I fell in love with tinto de verano! This is her description below:
Spanish Tinto de Verano
Tinto de Verano is, along with Sangria, one of the most beloved summer drinks in Spain. It is one of the easiest cocktails to make: Tinto de Verano is a refreshing red wine-based drink perfect for the hottest months, (it literally means Summer Wine in Spanish!) and it’s what I like to call a kind of “lazy sangria” because it’s literally pour and drink, no need for resting times and has fewer ingredients, so it’s very quick & easy to make.
What is the difference between Tinto de Verano and Sangria?
Sangria is made with wine, liquor, and fruits. It also has to chill for at least a couple of hours or overnight, so the wine gets infused with the flavors of the fruits. Also, while you can pour a bit of club soda or lemon soda on top of each glass, it is not traditional, and kind of considered an optional step.
Sangria takes a wider variety of fruits, from citrus to almost any summer fruit (peaches, melon, strawberries..)
On the other hand, Tinto de Verano is made with red wine and mixed with any lemon or lime soda, prepared on the spot, right before drinking it. No need to rest or chill. It also has fruits, but only citrus fruits (lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit), also it doesn’t have any other liquor in it, so, in my opinion, is a bit lighter than sangria.
Ingredients
- Red wine – Use a nice medium-quality young wine as opposed to an aged wine. Spanish Rioja is my favorite to use for this easy recipe!
- Orange – This sweeter citrus provides a nice balance between the red wine and tangier fruits.
- Lemon – Lemon provides a nice tanginess to the drink, without overpowering it with lemon flavor.
- Grapefruit – Grapefruit is delightfully bitter and compliments the other fruits perfectly by providing more depth and complex flavor.
- Lime – Just 1 small lime is all you need to enhance that zesty citrus flavor!
- Ice – Bigger ice cubes work best.
- Soda – Lemon or lime soda is perfect for this recipe! Honestly, I like using 7UP the most.
What kind of glasses should I serve Tinto de Verano in?
Any wine glass will do the trick! Personally, I like using bigger wine goblets so you can put all the ice and fruit slices into it without skimping or overflowing!
Can you use white wine?
No, that is not authentic!
Can I make Tinto de Verano ahead of time?
Sadly, this drink doesn’t hold up very well when stored. The soda loses its carbonation pretty quickly, so Tinto de Verano is best when prepared and enjoyed immediately.
Stay thirsty this summer!
Strawberry Rickey
Tinto De Verano
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of red wine, young wine, medium quality
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 lime
- Enough ice to fill half of each glass, big ice cubes work best
- 1 bottle of lemon or lime soda, (7UP goes really well with it)
Instructions
- Since we are going to use the fruit with the skin on, wash and scrub well all the fruits.
- Cut the orange and the grapefruit into wedges.
- Cut the lemon and lime as follows: Cut them in half and cut one of the halves in wedges and the other half in circles, you are going to use the circles for garnish.
- Prepare each glass with lots of ice (almost half of the glass should be filled with ice) and some of the fruit wedges. The idea is to have a mixture of each of them.
- How to make the layered glass: Once you have the glass ready with the ice and fruit wedges, pour the soda until you reach almost half of the glass.
- Put a tablespoon upside down, resting in one of the ice cubes, and slowly pour the wine on top of it, so it will fall into the soda slowly, without breaking completely into it. You’ll find that it will end up looking like you have less soda, but that’s normal since they mix a little.
- You could pour the wine and the soda and mix but I much prefer a little fancy presentation.
- Garnish with a circle of lime and lemon on the brim of each glass. For this, make a tiny slit on each circle and accommodate it over the brim.
- Mix before you drink it. You can always adjust it to your liking by adding a bit more soda or a bit more wine.
Great recipe! Minor correction: the plural of tinto de verano is tintos de verano.
Delicious summer cocktail, super quick & easy too. Thanks for the recipe!