“Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show” Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Wine coolers refresh on hot days
By Jodi Schneider
Correspondent
Rumor has it that during
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
(SOQS) Sisters establish-
ments sell more wine than
they sell beer during Sisters
Rodeo.
What could be even bet-
ter than a cool glass of wine
on a warm July day?
Possibly a frosty fruity
wine cooler.
Wine coolers have been
bottled and sold by commer-
cial distributors since the
early 1980s.
The term “wine cooler”
was originally a descrip-
tion of a drink that a bar-
tender would make by com-
bining wine and various
other ingredients to make a
refreshing summer beverage.
Think Sangria or Kir Royale.
They were the brightly
colored libations that com-
bined the flavors of an inex-
pensive wine like Chablis
with fruit juices — brands
like Bartles & Jaymes,
Seagram’s, and California
Cooler.
They were the hit drink
of the 1980s and the joke
drink of the 1990s. The
California Cooler took off
commercially in the mid-
1980s like a rocket. But, in
1991, Congress changed
the way wine was taxed and
companies no longer saw
wine coolers as profitable.
However, in May 2019,
for the first time in nearly
three decades, Bartles &
Jaymes started paying that
$1.07 excise tax to put the
“wine back in wine cool-
ers” with the relaunch of its
brand.
With the summer heat
in full swing, the appeal of
that light, fruity, low-alcohol
drink that can be served very
cold sounds delightful. The
cool thing is that home-
made wine coolers are easy
to make and taste a lot better
than the commercially pro-
duced ones of the 1980s.
The key ingredients of
the wine cooler are inexpen-
sive wine (usually white),
clear lemon-lime soda (like
Sprite or 7-Up) and fruit
juice. This is where the fun
and creativity begin. Fruit
juices give the wine cooler
its color and main flavor. A
grocery store shelf will reveal
all sorts from apple, white
grape, orange, and lemon, to
peach, cucumber, strawberry,
kiwi, and lime.
The basic “Wine Cooler” recipe is:
2 ounces inexpensive white wine
2 ounces fruit juice
2 to 4 ounces clear soda
Additional items can
include fresh fruit, lemon or
lime wedges, and with some
practice and careful experi-
mentation, you can adjust
the percentages of wine/
juice/soda to your prefer-
ences. Fresh fruit such as
berries can be added as a
garnish and lemon or lime
can be squeezed in to really
perk up the flavors.
Wine coolers can be
made dry or sweet. For dry
variations, any fruit juice
will work, with exceptional
favorites including cucum-
ber, lime, and cranberry.
Orange, strawberry, white
grape and apple go well with
sweeter coolers (more soda).
For the sweetest palates (and
perhaps for the most acidic/
bitter wine), a teaspoon of
sugar can be dissolved in the
wine before the colder soda
and fruit juice are added.
Further variations allow
for rosé or blush wine, both
work well with the red fruit
juices. Red wine can also
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be used; however, it doesn’t
go as well with fruit juices
like cucumber, lime, orange,
lemon and kiwi.
What’s the difference
between wine spritzers and
wine coolers?
The two terms have at
times become somewhat
confused and no doubt the
wine cooler concept grew
out of the already established
spritzer. A spritzer is most
basically wine and sparkling
water or wine and club soda.
It is therefore dryer than
a cooler. Spritzers are still
refreshing on warm days and
for an added kick, small por-
tions of vermouth, rum, or
gin can be added to give it
more of a cocktail taste.
SOQS
Sponso
r
KEEP STITCHING!
We look forward to partnering with
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in 2021.
PHOTO BY FRITZ LIEDTKE