We wrote about the viral phenomenon of the Negroni sbagliato nearly three years ago. That drink, which substitutes prosecco for gin in a Negroni, has as much to do with spritz culture as it does with the classic cocktail.
Spritzes in general appear to be having a moment — so much so that quality wine producers are bottling ready-to-drink versions.
We would like to introduce you to two such products, but first let’s talk about what makes a drink a spritz, and why you should be enjoying them.
Spritz is a very broad term. At its core, it is a cocktail featuring sparkling wine combined with something botanical, bitter and/or sweet, plus a splash of soda. For garnishes, a citrus wedge or peel is standard, while an olive garnish is both a visual treat and a salty snack.
Popular in Italy since it originated there in the 1950s, the spritz surged in popularity in the U.S. in the 2010s, and again in the 2020s during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The drink originally was popular as part of Italy’s “aperitivo hour,” a late-afternoon ritual consisting of spritzes and light snacks, but the American popularity has more to do with the brunch crowd.
If you want to start creating your own aperitivo hour, a great primer is “Spritz: Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, With Recipes” by Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau (Ten Speed Press, 2016).
As the dog days of August drain the energy needed to start mixing cocktails, here are a couple of ready-to-drink options. Look for them at well-curated wine shops.
Gruet Le Fleuriste elderflower lemon spritz. This sparkling wine house has French roots but produces its traditional-method bubbles in New Mexico. Gruet Winery is a larger production house that still is quite consistent in quality after decades, and its recent line of ready-made bottled spritzes follows suit.
Le Fleuriste easily stands in for making a Hugo spritz from scratch (with sparkling wine, elderflower and mint as key ingredients). It is lightly sweet, and the flavors come across as pleasant and natural, which is not always the case with lemon and mint.
This is a great product to keep on hand for holiday parties, backyard wedding receptions or lazy Sundays when you can muster only the motivation to pop and pour.
Mommenpop blood orange spritz-pop. California winemaker Samantha Sheehan makes lovely wines under both her Poe and Ultraviolet labels, but it is her Mommenpop line of all-natural wine-based citrus aperitifs that sets her apart in the contemporary California wine world.
These liquids are built to be enjoyed on their own with ice, in a complex cocktail or in their ideal form — as a spritz. The latter works so well that Sheehan released this pre-bottled version of her blood orange aperitif. Juicy is the essential word to describe this sipper; it is fruit-forward, pleasantly floral and effortless to drink, especially with a low 7% alcohol by volume.
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