Wine cocktails are making a comeback in the American bar scene, and we?re delighted to hear it. The thing is, we?ve been loving the elegant spritzer all along! Poor wine snobs, so worried that they shouldn?t experiment and blend wine with juices and other delicious tastes, though they?ll ?down a gin and tonic without thinking twice. At last, the world is catching on. It only makes sense. Summertime: warm sun, soft breezes, easy living. The fish are jumping right onto your line and someone is handing you a cold glass... It?s undeniable, nothing captures the gentle, bright essence of summer better than kosher wine cocktails.

You know about sangria and mimosas. Here are a few of our favorite recipes for mixing kosher wine into more unusual delicious concoctions that pair well with food--and have the added bonus of making your kosher wine and what?s in your wallet stretch a little further.

1. Red Sour

Ice 2 ounces gin 2 ounces red kosher wine 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice One 3-inch strip of orange zest

Fill half of a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the gin, red wine and lemon juice; shake well. Strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with orange zest.

2. Pleasant Bitter

Ice Dash of bitters 1/2 ounce Amaro Nonino 2 ounces Sauvignon Blanc Club soda Orange wheel

Fill one-third of a large wineglass with ice. Add the bitters, amaro and wine and top with a splash of club soda. Float the orange wheel on top.

3. Pimm?s Wine Cup

Crushed ice 3 ounces sherry Mint leaves, crushed, plus 1 mint sprig for garnish 1 ounce chilled aranciata (Italian orange soda), or Orangina 1 teaspoon sugar 3 dashes of bitters 1 cucumber slice

Fill a julep glass with crushed ice. In a cocktail shaker, combine the sherry, mint leaves, aranciata, sugar and bitters and shake well. Strain over the ice and garnish with the mint sprig and cucumber slice.

4. Calimocho (or Kalimotxo)

Red kosher wine Coca-Cola Lots of ice

For this Basque cocktail, fill a glass with lots of ice, then add a fifty/fifty mix of red wine and Coca-cola. If you want to be even more authentic, mix the cocktail in a plastic shopping bag, rather than a glass! Spanish teenagers will be proud.

5. Rouge Limon

Red kosher wine Club soda Lime slice

Fill a glass 3/4 full of red kosher wine, top it off with club soda and a twist of lime. Add ice if you wish, though it?s not the French way.

6. Apple Dumpling

2 ounces Sauvignon Blanc 2 ounces Lillet Blanc 2 ounces apple juice

Pour all ingredients into a glass filled with ice. Stir gently with a bar spoon or swizzle stick and enjoy.???

7. Claret Lemonade

1 teaspoon sugar or simple syrup 2 ounces fresh lemon juice 2 ounces red kosher wine Cold water Slice of lemon Maraschino cherry

Add the sugar and lemon juice to a chilled highball glass, and muddle until the sugar dissolves.

Add ice, the wine, and then cold water to fill. Garnish with lemon slice and maraschino cherry.

Enjoy, stay cool, L?chaim!

About the Author
www.OnlyKosherWine.com is the premier online outlet for Kosher Wines from top regions like France, Italy, and Spain, as well as products from New York and California. We also stock classic kosher drinks like Manischewitz and Kedem wine , so go ahead and order an old favorite to go with your new favorites today! Mark Etinger may be contacted at http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/Mark-Etinger-4346/kosher-wines-111600.php. Click here to view more articles by Mark Etinger.