Red Wine…. More than just a wine.

I love a nice drop of red, and for a while now, I've been playing around with the use of wine in cocktails. So whilst doing some research, I came across a couple of recipes which I had too make. The first was a home made red wine sorbet which I came across in one of Jamie Oliver's cookbook's.  Red wine being a drink which is usually served at room temperature, I was curious to see how refreshing this would be served sweetened and frozen. Like most Jamie Oliver recipes, this is a simple concoction. I mixed together red wine, lemon juice, lemonade and sugar syrup. You need to make sure this is stirred together well and pour into a few containers and then freeze. Due to the alcohol content,  this takes a little bit longer to freeze. The result is a refreshing summer dish which I like to serve in a martini glass and finish with a sprig of mint. I made this for my work colleagues and the response was quite positive. Even for the "non red wine drinkers", this goes down a treat. The refreshing citrus flavours of the lemon juice and lemonade takes the edge off the spicy qualities of the red wine. 

Another recipe which caught my eye was a "Merlot Martini". I've made many martinis in the past which used rose wine, sauvignon blanc, champagne, etc, but this was a unique cocktail which I was keen to try. The merlot martini starts with muddling 5 - 6 fresh red grapes, followed by 30ml of merlot, then 15ml cognac, 15ml Chambord and 15ml Creme de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). Add ice to your shaker glass and shake all ingredients together. Double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a strawberry. The cocktail is rich and sweet. The sweetness of the chambord and the creme de cassis work well together, and the dryness and smokey finish of the red wine and the cognac balanced it out nicely which makes this cocktail easy to drink. Having said that it, it does suit the sweet tooth, more so than the dry spirit drinker.

"Red Wine Sorbet”

Serves 6

300ml Sugar Syrup

300ml Red wine

300ml Lemonade

The juice of 1 lemon

“The Merlot Martini"

In a shaker glass:

Muddle 5 - 6 red grapes 

30ml Merlot Wine

15ml Cognac

15ml Chambord

15ml Creme de Cassis

Add ice and shake well

Double strain into a Martini Glass