My palette loves wine, it’s genetic. My parents are lovers of a great full-bodied red wine and it looks like it has been passed onto me. So on top of loving wine I recently experienced different wine drinks that I would like to share.

Sangria

This is what I call the devil’s potion. Not in the literal sense, I just mean that you drink so much of it, because it tastes like juice, but when you stand up, that’s when you’ve realise how much you’ve had. Sangria is made by mixing typically a dry red wine (Cab Sav, Cab Franc or Merlot), some brandy, some syrup, chopped up lemon, orange and grapes (I add apple too) and ice. Another thing I add is orange juice, I think it adds a bit of ‘yumminess’ to the drink. It’s a party drink and everyone loves it.

Katemba

This, I tasted when my brother tried to make it sound like he made a complicated  and sophisticated drink. I was so curious, only to find out that it is Coca Cola and red wine. So get this; it’s origins are South African- Portuguese. I think that’s cool because I’m proudly South African. Even though it’s just equal parts of red wine and Coca Cola, it tasted really really delicious. Yes, you’ve tasted wine and you’ve tasted Cola, now mix those two thoughts together and that’s Katemba.

Mulled Wine

This is my favourite and I was so excited when I heard that you can do this to wine. Mulled wine is typically consumed during Christmas time when it’s cold. But that only makes sense when you are in the northern hemisphere. Here, in South Africa, you can enjoy it best June-July. There are a lot of variations of mulled wine, but this is how I prefer to have it. So get some chopped orange, put it in a saucepan with some caster sugar, water, chopped up apple, cinnamon sticks, some nutmeg and the brandy is optional. Bring the saucepan to boil, then let it simmer. Add the wine then let it simmer again for like 5 minutes and serve immediately. I love it!

There a whole bunch of wine cocktails you can make but I generally stick to the above. they’re my crowd pleasers!

Let me know about what variations you enjoy.