White wine spritzers for summer

Welcome to the most refreshingly delicious treat this side of summer, mofos. That’s right; we’re coming in hot with wine spritzers!

If you’re a spritzer skeptic, don’t worry — these aren’t your mum’s watered-down, chardonnay-over-ice fizz failures. These three easy spritzer recipes offer a warm-weather-friendly alternative to your usual glass of chilled vino, and you can size them up or down depending on if you’re spritzing solo or with a sizeable crowd.

via GIPHY

A few quick notes before we launch into the recipes:

First? A good rule of thumb with wine spritzers is three parts wine to one part spritz — but you can of course adjust these proportions for a brighter or boozier beverage.

And second? Garnishes offer a simple and Instagram-worthy way to jazz up whatever you’re serving. Simply choose one of the flavour characteristics of whatever wine you’re working with (pinot grigio and lemon, for example), and garnish appropriately.

Gewürztraminer, grapefruit, and apricot

Traditionally juicy, spicy, and aromatic, the flavour-packed gewürztraminer is a great way to add a bit of punch to your spritzer. If you want, you can play around with the fruit components here, like subbing lemon for grapefruit and/or peach for apricot. Have fun with it!

• 1 bottle gewürztraminer 

• 3 cups grapefruit-flavoured sparkling water (LaCroix’s pamplemousse? Mwah!)

• ¼ cup sugar (more if you like your bevvies sweeter)

• 3 apricots, pitted and chopped

• 1 grapefruit, sliced

1. Combine wine, sparkling water, and sugar. Mix until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Add apricots.

3. Remove the rinds on a few slices of grapefruit, and add to the mixture. Stir to combine.

4. Pour into your glass of choice, and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

(Pro tip: gewürztraminer’s known for its notes of jasmine and honeysuckle, so add some edible flowers on top for extra credit!)

Grüner veltliner, ginger, and orange

Austria’s signature varietal grüner veltliner is famous for its zippy acidity, white-pepper backbone, pops of citrus, and undercurrent of musk. Because most spritzer recipes focus on more mainstream flavour combinations like lemon and lime, we’ve gone a little off-the-beaten-path with this one to provide a slightly more savoury option — but you could absolutely replace the orange juice and garnish with lime, if you prefer.

• 1 bottle grüner veltliner 

• 250ml ginger ale or ginger beer

• Hefty splash of orange juice

• Orange slices, for garnish

1. Pour grüner into a large serving bowl. Top with ginger ale or ginger beer.

2. Add the orange juice, and stir to combine.

3. Pour into your glass of choice, and garnish with an orange slice. (Feeling fancy? Garnish with a twist of orange rind instead.)

Riesling and lime

All the recipes here are pretty easy — but since the previous two are just slightly more involved, here’s a spritzer that’s genuinely as easy as it gets. You can thank us later.

• 1 bottle dry riesling 

• 250ml club soda

• Splash of lime juice

• Lime slices, for garnish

1. Pour riesling into a serving bowl, and top with club soda.

2. Toss in lime slices for extra flavour.

3. Pour into your glass of choice, and garnish with another lime slice.

Want more? Find out how to make sparkling white cocktails in 60 seconds.