Why is it surprising to see a mixologist splash a high-end wine into a cocktail? It’s nothing new to add a basic Prosecco to an Aperol spritz, or dump a bottle of a bargain red into a punch bowl for sangria. So why should it cause a stir if some super-premium wine brands encourage consumers and bartenders to use their products as mixers?
Until recently, it was extremely rare, if not verboten, for a high-quality winery to assign their wines supporting rather than starring roles. The standard wisdom was not to cheapen one’s product this way, but rather keep it front and center, undiluted, and make sure the branded bottle got its place on the dinner table. And yet, we’re seeing examples of the opposite across the industry.
The Cocktail-ification of Wine
In a recent website post, Frank Family Wines of Napa Valley splashes its $40 Pinot Noir into a saucepan on a hot stove to simmer with cinnamon bark, star anise, fruit juice and orange slices for a mulled wine. Elsewhere, on Instagram, Dusted Valley Wine of Walla Walla, Washington, measures 2 ounces of their $32 Ramblin’ Rosé into a cocktail called the Long-Stemmed Rosé (they’re into the rose and rosé puns, big time) along with Aviation gin, Dubonnet rouge and passionfruit syrup.
Both of these drinks look and taste delicious, but what’s going on here from a marketing perspective? Aren’t producers like these afraid of killing the mystique of “fine wine”?
Liam Gearity, Frank Family’s director of hospitality, is a former mixologist in New York nightclubs and creates the winery’s cocktails. Although some winemakers and marketers don’t like the idea of wine-based mixed drinks, “that shouldn’t prohibit us from having fun,” he says. “Let’s take wine off a pedestal to a certain degree and incorporate it into our lives and our enjoyment of great wine and spirits.”
The Rise of Low-ABV Drinks
At E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California, the Apothic brand has gone all in to promote wine-based cocktails. Senior Director of Marketing Adrienne Daniels says the move is in part driven by recent trends. Figures from research from Mintel show that cross-category drinking behavior—aka the consumption of beverages that span more than one category—is up 77% from pre-pandemic levels. A minority, but still significant, number of drinkers are interested in wine cocktails in part because they are often lower in alcohol, she continues. Meanwhile, in January of 2023, Google searches for “wine cocktails” hit an all-time high.
Case in point, the Dark Manhattan: The brand’s red blend, Apothic Dark, replaces the Manhattan’s usual sweet vermouth, which is mixed with bourbon and simple syrup and garnished with maraschino cherries. Substituting a wine that’s 13.5% abv for vermouth that’s 20% abv vodka does, indeed, bring down a mixed drink’s potency.
“Apothic is a brand that has always pushed the boundaries, and wine cocktails are just one of the ways we do that,” says Daniels. “Our fans are absolutely responding. Page visits to the cocktails page at Apothic.com grew 50% in a year, and Apothic Red Sunset”—a concoction of Apothic red wine, lemon-lime soda and orange and grapefruit juices—“is the favorite.”
A New Era
At Ultimate Provence, a posh wine estate and resort near Saint-Tropez, the UP Lounge features cocktails using the property’s rosé and other wines in drinks such as the Provencal, which blends lavender-infused gin, fresh lavender, violet syrup, UP rosé and tonic water.
Alexis Cornu, the winemaker for Chateau de Berne and Ultimate Provence, admits that he was at first shocked by the idea of putting wine into cocktails. He’s since come around.
“I remember when the mixologist proposed it to me for the first time,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘My wine! I tried to make the best balance, the fragrance, the nuance, and you put it in a drink! How should I feel?’ But I tasted it, and I said, ‘OK. Well done. It tastes very good.’ Now it’s very popular.”
Back at Frank Family in Napa Valley, Gearity says wine is a natural for mixology. “What I love about wine cocktails is they don’t stray from the fundamental rules for making any cocktail,” he notes. “Wine is the most perfectly balanced cocktail as it is, incorporating the energies of acidity, perceived sweetness and body.”
Wine is the only booze in Gearity’s cocktails, so they’re naturally light in alcohol. Other recent creations include a spring-themed drink called Carneros Dove, which features $40 Carneros Chardonnay as its main ingredient. A take on the Paloma, which is normally tequila-based, it also features agave nectar, muddled grapefruit slices and fresh rosemary.
Cocktail consumers today are very intelligent, Gearity says. They desire variety. “Angostura bitters are no longer the only bitters, and Martini & Rossi vermouths are no longer the only vermouths behind the bar,” he says. “As we become more intelligent about beverages, we want more complexity, we want more options.”
Wine, of course, is among the most complex beverages around. Gearity believes it’s only a matter of time before it’s appreciated as a cocktail ingredient in a mainstream context. Just as expensive, hand-crafted vermouths are appreciated in cocktails, he argues, high-end wines are logical in them, too.
“It’s funny to me that wine in a cocktail seems strange when vermouth is a wine,” he says. “It’s been used in cocktails for a long, long time.”
Last Updated: July 19, 2023
