Forget Burgundy

Ladies and gentleman, I have been on a roll this week. I suspect that my brush with zombie-ism that was last week and my reintroduction to the wonders of caffeine are at least partially responsible but this week, I just feel great.

I have done such things as craft two haikus (go ahead, you try it before you roll your eyes at me), come up with an entire wine related rhyme, and made a gigantic leap in the direction of saving myself a giant mound of money by learning to make Chinese food at home. BAM.

So how did I feel when my dear cousin brought up the topic of wine spritzers? Did I slump into my chair and groan? Did I laugh? Did I cower? No, dear readers, I said bring it.

Spritzers are generally something I relegate to the realm of white zinfandel and commercials for Arbor Mist. However, I have a feeling that wine-centric cocktails are boomeranging back from 90’s obsolescence and I’m always happy to be ahead of the game.

Spritzer’s are generally nothing more than white wine and seltzer with, perhaps, a stray strawberry or raspberry thrown in for decoration. However, after a wee bit o googling, there’s also a healthy contingent of spritzer spikers out there who recommend a splash of peach schnapps or other such fruity liquors. To that end, this whole spritzer thing is starting to sound like a vaguely good idea.

So, what wine would I use? I would say that, since you’re going to be mixing it with seltzer you want to use a white wine that is already pretty light but that has plenty of fruit in it. Also, since you’re going to be watering it down, I would think that you wouldn’t want to spend more than $10. Give these a whirl:

• Torrontes: A distinct nose of peaches and apricots that would get a nice bump from a splash of Schnapps. The high acid, full body, and crisp finish are perfect for a spritzer.

•Albariño: A super super light and snappy white wine that usually has notes of watermelon and roses. Throwing in some Saint Germain Liqour along with your seltzer of choice couldn’t hurt.

• Vinho Verde: Bargain-basement prices and a unique fresh lime zest quality makes this ideal for a spritzer, especially if you wanted to throw in a dash of vodka or perhaps even some clear tequila or a splash of chartreuse?