Tinto de Verano

Translated, it means “summer red wine.” It’s red wine with gaseosa, a lightly sweetened lemon soda with little fizz, mixed roughly half and half and served with lots of ice. You’ll also often see it written as tinto verano, without the de. It’s the same drink. Since the wine is diluted by half, the glass contains about six to seven percent alcohol, roughly the same as a light beer. Despite the name, Spaniards order it all year round, and it’s always served with a slice of lemon.

You can hardly find gaseosa anywhere in the Netherlands, so here almost everyone makes red wine with Sprite or 7UP. That works just fine. Just bear in mind that gaseosa is less sweet and has a milder lemon flavor. If you use Sprite, add a little less lemonade and a little more wine, such as 12 parts to 8. Otherwise, the drink will taste mostly sweet. The Spanish brand that comes closest to the original is Casera. You can sometimes find it at an Asian grocery store or a good liquor store. Sparkling water with a splash of sugar syrup works too.

Red wine with cola is something else entirely and has its own name: kalimotxo. It’s from the Basque Country and is made with equal parts wine and cola over ice. Cola adds caramel flavor and a lot more sugar, making the drink darker and heavier than tinto de verano. Both were created to make simple red wine enjoyable to drink in summer, and neither needs an expensive bottle. Try them side by side, and the lemon version will taste fresher, while the cola version is more like a soft drink. It all comes down to how sweet you want it.

If you’re making this tinto de verano recipe for a group, you can easily prepare it in a pitcher, since there’s no muddling or shaking involved. Allow about 100 ml of wine and the same amount of lemonade per person. Combine the wine and lemon slices ahead of time, and add the lemonade just before serving. Otherwise, it’ll go flat before your guests arrive. Put the ice in a separate bucket and let people serve themselves. Ice in the pitcher will water down the whole batch. A large pitcher makes things easiest; browse our carafes.

Choose a young, fruity red wine without much oak or heavy tannins. In Spain, that’s often a simple tempranillo or garnacha from a carton, and we mean that seriously. Ice and lemonade will drown out all the subtle details anyway. A wine with lots of oak or tannins will taste dry and astringent against the sweetness. Put the bottle in the fridge beforehand, since you’ll be pouring it over ice. And a bottle you don’t enjoy drinking on its own won’t be saved by this either. Musty is still musty.

They're similar. The difference is how much work they take and how strong they are. Sangria is made with red wine, pieces of fruit, and usually a splash of brandy or liqueur, and needs to steep for a few hours. Tinto de verano is wine, soda, ice, and a slice of lemon, ready in a minute. It's lighter, too. With the added liqueur, sangria can easily exceed ten percent alcohol. Our full Sangria recipe has its own page.