To Spritz or Not to Spritz

There are some days when I only want to drink Riesling. That’s the only thing that will do, my mouth literally waters for the stuff. July 4th happened to be one of those days and it also happened to be a day when pre-lunch hour drinking was perfectly acceptable. I wanted to get my poolside drink on, but not be three sheets several hours before fireworks even began. Not cute. Light bulb! Wine spritzer.

Introducing my friends San Pellegrino and Selbach 2011 “Incline” Riesling. This wine is a sort of entry-level offering from a really fantastic German winery in the Mosel, Selbach-Oster. It’s under $15 and is quite the drinker for not a lot of cash money. High acid, just a tiny touch of residual sugar, really focused and pure. Great on it’s own, of course, but also a good base for…a spritzer. So shoot me.

Some people might think this wine spritzer thing a taboo. Is it? In the words of the late, great Whitney Houston- “hell to the no.” Guidelines: 1. Don’t spend more than $15 on the wine, 2. Make sure it is fresh, light and unoaked (white or rosé), 3. Go with a 1:1 ratio, then it doesn’t seem like the wine is too watery or the water too wine-y. Make sense? Carry on!

Further wine spritzer inspiration: NY Times