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Herbal Limeade

Herbal limeade is one of those things that you don’t really know what you are missing until you try it. It doesn’t necessarily sound all that appetizing or refreshing, but I guarantee it is both!

My love of herbal limeade started thanks to one of my favorite restaurants in Charlotte. They make this amazing limeade that is actually blended with rosemary, mint, and basil. It’s definitely more herbal than limeade, but it totally works! 

It’s like a green drink that you actually WANT to drink.

Since I can’t get my hands on their herbal limeade around Atlanta, I thought I would venture into making my own! My version is more limeade than herbal, but it’s still totally delicious and extra refreshing. 

Perfect for Summer!

How to Make It

Start by making your herbal simple syrup. If you have your own herb garden, raid it for a few sprigs of rosemary, mint, and a couple basil leaves. The main flavors in this limeade are rosemary and mint, so you will want more of those two. 

Place the sugar, water, herbs, and the zest of one lime into a small saucepan. Let it simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Then turn off the heat and let the simple syrup cool with the zest and herbs still in there to extract as much flavor as possible!

While that cools, squeeze the heck out of a bunch of limes (and a few lemons). Limes are stubborn little suckers and don’t give up their juice easily, so if you have a juicer NOW is the time to use it!

Strain the lime juice into a fresh container to get rid of any seeds or pulp (unless that’s your jam), then strain the simple syrup to remove the herbs and zest. 

Add the syrup to the lime juice then add enough water until it suits your taste. I typically stick to 1 part lime juice to 2-3 parts water. 

Stick a few more sprigs of rosemary and mint in there to keep the herbal flavor alive and well while you sip on your delicious, refreshing, and (dare I say) healthy (?) beverage!

Tools and Recipe

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Easy Mulled Wine Recipe

Christmas is just a few short hours away, which means that hopefully, you have done all of your holiday shopping, you have your holiday outfit picked out, and you are already enjoying time with your family.

If you answered no to the first two, I am not sure how much I can help with that. But if its spending time with your family you are worried about, I have just the trick: mulled wine!

Mulled wine is the perfect holiday drink for those who are not into eggnog. First of all, it’s wine. Who doesn’t need a little wine when hanging out with the fam? Also, it’s a warm drink which is great for these cold winter days. Lastly, it’s actually really easy to make! Of course, that is key when you are running around the day before Christmas trying to tie up any loose ends. 

Mulled wine gets its flavor from oranges and some classic Christmas spices. Mainly, clove, cinnamon, and cardamom. 

First, bring water, sugar, and the orange peel to a boil to get all those flavors out of the orange zest. Then add the spices. Hopefully, you already have some whole spices on hand (if not, you may need to make a quick trip to the store). Let the spices get all cozy with the orange zest, then turn down the heat before adding in the wine. 

It is very important that you don’t boil the wine.

I repeat, DON’T BOIL THE WINE!

If you boil the wine, all of the alcohol will cook out of the wine, which is the opposite of what you want to happen. 

After about 15 minutes, remove the spices from the wine. Now it’s ready to serve.

I like to add some orange slices to the wine to add a little more orange flavor. 

For those who haven’t had mulled wine before, it reminds me a lot of sangria with a little extra spice. It delicious, trust me. 

And it’s perfect for holiday parties, family gatherings, or when you can’t decide between a warm drink and wine. With mulled wine, you can have both!

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My Favorite Summer Wines

I’m a wine girl at heart. It’s my go-to drink out at a bar, at dinner, at a wedding, or at home after a long day at work. (Side note: if you ever see me out and want to buy me a drink, I will happily accept any glass of white wine. I just thought I would let you know for future reference.)

While I have my go-to wines that I will drink year round, my tastes change a bit with the season. I find myself drinking more light and crisp whites and fruity reds during the Summer. Of course, I am not a wine expert (although I have watched Somm and Somm: Into the Bottle, sooo…) but over the years I have learned to look for flavors that are in season during the Summer, such as citrus, berry, stone fruit, jalapeno, or tropical fruit. These are typically the best wines for those hot Summer days or to pair with anything hot off the grill. 

My Favorite White Wines

White wines are my go-to year round, but especially during the Summer. My favorites tend to be those that have a lot of citrus notes, like grapefruit, orange peel, or lemon because they are so light and refreshing. I will also tend to try anything with hints of peach, nectarine, melon, pear, apple….basically anything you would toss in a fruit salad. 

My favorite white wines definitely check all of those boxes. Lots of fruitiness going on. And since I describe wine like a bowl of Fruit Loops, I thought I would find the best reviews on Vivino to help convey my thoughts in a much more eloquent manner.

  • Roi Dagobert Dry Riesling – “Dry and good. Not setting the world alight but easy drinking.” – Fergus (Well, Fergus, maybe you aren’t setting the world alight, ever think of that?!!)
  • Maso Canali Pinot Grigio – “Grassy and acidic. Not shy or sweet. Enjoyable. A balance of crisp and smooth. Peachy.” – Stephen (I appreciate that Stephen also described the wine’s personality. There is nothing I hate more than an outgoing wine.)
  • Converge Zone Cellars Chenin Blanc – “light, crisp, refreshing” – Ellery (Okay, that was the only comment on this one…even I could have come up with that.)
My Favorite Rosés

RosĂ©s are somewhat of a new wine for me. Up until last Summer, my only association with rosĂ© was White Zinfindel. Not really my cup of tea (or wine!). But ever since trying the first rosĂ© on my list I have been a fan! 

  • Charles & Charles RosĂ© – “My first bottle exploring what is Rose. No longer dominated by White Zin’s, it is a refreshing departure. Fruity, dry and light. Perfectly enjoyed on the front porch on a warm night. Beautiful.” – Dave (Damn Dave, just taking the words right out of my mouth.)
  • Brin de RosĂ© RosĂ© – “Nice floral and potpourri on the nose. Beautiful and clean pink color. Light red berry and citrus on the tongue. Light bodied, dry and extremely refreshing. Medium acidity bring the refreshing/tingly feeling to the corner of your mouth. Simple finish that leaves your wanting more. Perfect pool side.” – James (Now that’s a review.)
  • Kirkland RosĂ© – “Very solid Rose. Especially for the price. Serve nice and chilled. Very crisp and light. Slight hints of sweetness balanced by subtle fruit flavors like strawberry.” – JosĂ© (Can’t beat that Costco value!)
My Favorite Red Wines

Let’s be honest, if it weren’t for my husband (and sangria), I probably wouldn’t drink any red wine in the Summer. But since my husband only drinks reds, I have come to love a few that we will drink again and again. Most of my favorite reds have very strong flavors of cherry, vanilla, raspberry, and orange. Really any wine that would also be good as a sangria. 

  • Kudos Pinot Noir – “Raspberry and tart red cherry. Light bodied but concentrated fruit flavors. Dry clean finish that lacks intrigue. The focused bright fruit keeps me coming back for more sips. Long Monday Pinot.” – Patrick (This isn’t any ol‘ Monday Pinot…it’s a looooong Monday Pinot. Get it straight.)
  • Montecillo Rioja – “2005 was a very good year for Rioja and this Gran Reserva doesn’t disappoint. Translucent ruby red color. Cedar, vanilla, and spice in the nose. Medium to light body, low acidity, and fine groping tannins. Topical Rioja flavors and structure with good balance. Medium length finish with a spicy and slightly bitter end.” – Adrian (First, Adrian knows his shiz. Second, I don’t like the sound of ‘groping tannins’. Keep your hands to yourself, tannins.) 
  • 19 Crimes Shiraz – “HANDCUFF ME TO THIS WINE FOR SOME S&M!……….Sip and Muse. What were YOU thinking I meant?! Complex. Deep. Bold. Elegant. Rough. Tough. Girded. Graceful. 19 Crimes always mesmerize me. Confuses me. Leads me astray down perilous purgatorial paths that leave me panting. Try it. It would be a CRIME not to. It might imprison you in its crazy clutches, but trust me, it’s worth doing TIME for this wine!” – Linda (I think Linda needs a boyfriend…)
Where I Buy Wine

In case you are wondering, we buy most of our wines at Costco. Actually, that’s how we found a lot of these wines. My husband always looks to see which ones are low in stock, then picks up a bottle because “it must be good!”. The only problem with Costco is that they don’t have as much variety as some other wine stores. Our favorite here in Charlotte is Total Wine. They seem to have just about everything. We even found the exact bottle of wine that Billy and I had on our first date (from some really obscure vineyard in Provence). 

You can also buy your wine from Amazon because Amazon sells everything now. But I did notice that their selection wasn’t great. Maybe it will get better as they get more distributors. 

Wine Accessories

You don’t need a lot of accessories to enjoy a good glass of wine, but there are a few things that I have picked up over the years that can certainly help. First is our wine opener. A friend gifted this to us a couple years a go and we haven’t looked back. It’s like popping open a bottle of Champagne every time!

Second are these wine ice cubes. They come in lots of shapes and forms, but essentially they keep your wine cool if you are a slow drinker like me.

The last thing (or things) is this wine thermos. We took it with us to the beach and it kept a bottle of wine pretty cool almost all day. Think of it as a Yeti for your wine. It also makes a great gift, which is how we got it…from the same friend that got us the wine bottle opener. I wonder if she’s trying to tell me something?

One last thing I will mention is the Vivino app. It’s an app that lets you track your favorite bottles of wine. You take a picture of the bottle and rate it, then it will save it to your list and build recommendations off of wines you have liked. It’s a pretty great way to keep track of your favorite bottles!

Have I inspired you to pour yourself a nice tall glass of wine? I have certainly inspired myself. Cheers!

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Rosé Sangria

Rose Sangria

I actually hadn’t tried my first sip of RosĂ© until very recently. Like last week. My Bourbon-drinking, Crossfit- doing male coworker is actually the one who recommended that I give it a try. After I got over making fun of him for his taste in wine, he educated me on the leaps and bounds of progress RosĂ© has made over the past few years. It’s not longer just the sickeningly sweet White Zinfandel that my grandparents used to drink. Now it’s complex and refined, and – dare I say it? – good! After my first sip, I knew it would be perfect for Sangria!

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Spain when I was in grad school and all I can remember is that I drank a lot of sangria. And it didn’t stop when I got home. My husband I tried various sangria recipes, mixing it up with red wine and white wine, stone fruit and citrus. Honestly, none of those combinations were bad. How could wine and fruit be bad? But the one combination we never tried was RosĂ© and anything.

Summer Rose Sangria

Because RosĂ© is a popular Summer wine, I decided to make this sangria with lots of Summer fruit. Let me clarify – pink Summer fruit, like strawberries, raspberries, peaches, plums, and cherries.

Making Sangria is remarkably easy. I like to chop up the fruit into equally sized pieces then toss them in the bottom of a pitcher. I then pour in the wine, some orange juice, and some simple syrup. Next comes the hardest part of the whole recipe – waiting.

Rose Sangria

Sangria is best when it sits and “marinates” overnight. All those flavors from the fruit come out to flavor the wine, and the fruit does it’s part to soak up some of that wine, too.

To serve, I like to pour it into a class with some frozen grapes, which act as little ice cubes. Then I add in spoon in some of the fruit from the pitcher and top it off with some sparkling water (I prefer LaCroix) for some effervescence.

Rose Sangria

This RosĂ© sangria is so refreshing and light, it is perfect for a warm Summer day. I can’t imagine anyone not loving this sangria! But if for some strange reason you don’t finish your whole batch, you can actually save sangria and refrigerate it for up to a week! Can’t let good Sangria go to waste!

Rose Sangria

Here’s what I do:

  • Strain out the fruit
  • Pour sangria back into the wine bottle (this is where screw top bottles come in handy)
  • Refrigerate

Then when I’m ready to serve up my leftover sangria, I pour it over some fresh fruit. Easy peasy!

So if you were looking for a fun cocktail to make for your 4th of July bash, I hope I have inspired you to whip up a batch of sangria!

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