Here are 4 wine cocktails that will make your St. Patrick’s Day super green. These drinks aren’t too sweet or alcoholic, which makes them great for a party.
Shamrock Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 oz Midori
- 4 oz sparkling wine
- Melon balls
Sweetness: Medium Sweet
Directions: Use a cocktail jigger or small measuring cup and pour 1 oz of Midori into a Champagne flute. Pour sparkling wine on top to fill glass. We used Cava because it’s the cheapest “Traditional Method” sparkling out there that delivers about 2x as many bubbles as Prosecco. This drink tastes like honeydew-lime champagne and has a nice booziness factor. Make sure to chill both Midori and sparkling wines prior to making the cocktail to give the drink optimal coolness. One drink will definitely start working on you.
St. Patrick’s Wine Smoothie aka Supergreen Wine Smoothie
Ingredients
- 6 oz Vinho Verde white wine
- 3 kale leaves
- 1 green apple
- 15 green grapes
Sweetness: Just Sweet Enough
Directions: Put all the ingredients together in a blender and puree. Then, using a tea strainer or sieve, strain the mixture into a pitcher or large bowl (we used a bowl), which you can chill until you’re ready serve. This recipe isn’t really hard to make, but straining it takes some time ensure sure you get all the Vinho Verde through the sieve! We loved this one because even though it’s booze, it gives you a full serving of green veggies! Your hippy friends will approve.
Sangria Verde aka Green Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of Vinho Verde white wine
- 2–3 oz Cointreau
- cubed green apple
- sliced cucumber
- grapes
Sweetness: Just Sweet Enough
Directions: Put all the ingredients together in a large mason jar and store in the fridge for at least 3 hours–even better, overnight. Divide portions into glasses and serve over ice. This cocktail is too easy to drink!
Cucumber Mint Fizz
Ingredients
- 2 oz cucumber mint juice (read directions on how to make)
- 4 oz sparkling wine
Sweetness: Dry
Directions: To make cucumber-mint juice take a half a cucumber, a small handfull of mint, and 2 teaspoons of sugar into a blender and process well. Use a tea strainer or sieve to strain mixture into a measuring cup. Pour 2 oz of the cucmber-mint juice into the bottle of a wine glass, top with ice and sparkling wine. Garnish with cucumber wheels and mint.
Which Wines To Use?
Dry White Wine: We opted to use a Portuguese white wine from Vinho Verde because it’s dry, lighter alcohol and often has a touch of carbonation, which makes the drinks really pop. You can usually find a bottle for $6–$9. If you can’t find a white Vinho Verde, a Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, or Pinot Grigio are all great alternatives.
Sparkling Wine: We went with a Brut Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) because it’s dry and made in the same method as Champagne, which means the bubbles will last longer (than Prosecco). You can usually pick up a bottle for $6–$9. If you can’t find a Cava in your area, any “Method Traditional” sparkling wine will do!