Spain’s Tinto de Verano is a refreshing red wine cocktail that’s super easy to craft at home in mere minutes. If you love drinking Sangria but hate cutting up fruit, then this summer sipper is for you!
With a name that literally translates to red wine of summer, it not hyperbole to refer to Tinto de Verano as a quintessential summer sipper. But it’s not just its name that makes this Spanish red wine cocktail ideal for the warm weather months. You’ll understand after one sip although its practically impossible to stop sipping Tinto de Verano until the glass is empty. Consider yourself warned.
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What Is Tinto de Verano?
Tinto de Verano is a cocktail that’s crafted with just two ingredients, red wine and lemon-lime soda, in a 1:1 ratio. A handful of ice cubes and an orange wedge or wheel complete the easy Tinto de Verano recipe.
You may be wondering if this Spanish cocktail is similar to Spain’s more famous wine-based cocktail – Sangria. As we learned during a fun Seville food tour, the simple answer is yes. But that’s not the full answer.
Both of Spain’s popular Spanish wine-based cocktails are fun to sip on a hot afternoon or while eating tapas. However, unlike Sangria, Tinto de Verano is pain-free to craft at home.
You don’t have to chop up fruit or wait for the flavors to combine when you whip up a glass or pitcher of Tinto de Verano. In other words, it may take you more time to open a bottle of wine than to craft the ruby red drink.
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History of Tinto de Verano
While Spain’s Tinto de Verano is ready for its moment in the sun, it’s far from a new or trendy tipple. Spaniards have been sipping the delightful drink on verandas and at tapas bars for more than a century.
Legend has it that a Cordoba bartender crafted the original Tinto de Verano more than a century ago with equal parts of red wine and Gaseosa, i.e. lemon soda. Today, many mixologists replace Gaseosa with Fanta, Seven-Up or Sprite while some use lemonade instead.
Ingredients
The Tinto de Verano ingredient list includes the following items:
You don’t need to buy a special bottle of wine to craft this recipe. We keep to theme by using Spanish wines like our favorite, El Pacto, a moderately priced La Rioja crianza produced with 100% tempranillo grapes. Your favorite red wine will work just fine even it it’s not Spanish.
Any lemon-lime soda will suffice. We typically use 7-Up because it’s easy to find where we live. Another option would be to make soda from scratch using fizzy water, lemon juice and simple syrup.
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
How to Craft Tinto de Verano
As we alluded above, the most difficult part of crafting this red wine cocktail is opening the bottle of red wine. Once you accomplish that task, the first step is to fill a glass half way with ice.
Next, pour both liquids into the glass.
Gently stir until the liquids are combined.
Pro Tip
Don’t overstir or you’ll lose the soda’s fizz.
Once you garnish the Tinto de Verana with an orange wheel or wedge, it’s time to start sipping.
Variations
While we’ve chosen to honor the simplicity of the original Tinto de Verano recipe, you may want to jazz it up a bit with one of the following variations:
Frequently Asked Questions
Tinto de Verano is a refreshing Spanish cocktail crafted with equal parts of red wine and lemon-lime soda.
Tinto de Verano was invented in Cordoba, Spain.
Both Sangria and Tinto de Verano are wine-based cocktails. However, while the Sangria recipe includes a variety of chopped fruit, the easy Tinto de Verano recipe gets its fruit flavor from lemon-lime soda. Also, Sangria can be crafted with either red or white wine (plus brandy) unlike Tinto de Verano which is always crafted with red wine.
Red Wine, Lemon-Lime Soda, Ice Cubes and an Orange Wedge or Wheel (garnish)
The Tinto de Verano cocktail is stirred, not shaken.
Did you craft this cocktail? If so, please rate the recipe below.
Tinto de Verano
Ingredients
- 4 ounces red wine (chilled)
- 4 ounces lemon-lime soda (chilled)
- ice cubes
- 1 wheel orange (garnish)
Equipment
Instructions
- Fill a glass halfway with ice cubes.
- Pour red wine and lemon-lime soda into the glass.
- Gently stir.
- Garnish with an orange wedge or wheel.
Pro Tips
- Chill the red wine and lemon-lime soda before you craft this cocktail.
- Don’t vigorously stir this cocktail. If you do, you’ll neutralize the soda’s fizz.
Estimated Nutrition
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About the Authors
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.
Albert Lezmy
Tuesday 14th of May 2024
Nice