In the mix: Best wines for summer spritzers

Do remember that I am available to Saga Magazine readers as a sort of wine ‘agony uncle’, a safe space for wine enquiries, if you like. One reader recently asked me which wines were best for the summer spritzers loved by her girlfriends.

"Maybe the answer is none," she wrote. "And then, what about adding some ice?"

It’s hard to know where our wariness about mixing wine with water, or ice with wine, came from. The food writer Elizabeth David described 'the violent hostility to the idea of iced wines and water for a long time expressed' by the French. 

Maybe that’s the reason we’re not sure if it’s OK. In fact, wine was normally mixed with water by the ancient Greeks and Romans; Renaissance Florentines were among the first to chill their wine with ice as far back as the 1300s.

By the 1500s, Grand Duke Cosimo had vast silver coolers filled with snow, ignoring the advice of doctors who believed chilled wine was harmful.

These days, I’d argue it’s almost medicinal. There’s possibly no finer drink on earth than white port and tonic, especially in the late summer.

Buy a bottle of white port – my pick is Quinta Da Pedra Alta White Port (RRP £22.50) – and serve chilled with tonic and a sprig of mint. It’s so refreshing and fruity you will wonder if you’ll ever go back to gin.

If you’re after a traditional spritzer – like our reader’s friends – go closer to Portugal’s coast and try LB7 Vinho Verde 2023/24 (RRP £8.50). Spritzers need something light, unoaked, dry and crisp. Grüner Veltliner from Austria or Pinot Grigio also work well. Avoid anything oaky.

I wonder if wine ‘drinking’ countries worry more about mixing it than countries where they make the stuff (the French excepted). I help make wines in Spain and we end each day with Tinto de Verano: light red wine mixed with lemonade (if you like it sweeter) or gaseosa, a slightly sweet soda water, served on ice with lemon.

Again, you need something light – like M&S Expressions Organic Garnacha (RRP £8.50) or a decent(ish) box like Campo Viejo Winemakers Blend Bag In Box Red Wine (RRP £16.30). And it’s worth buying Gaseosa (from a Spanish deli or Amazon).

Serve 1:1 (2:1 if you’re generous) with a lemon slice and ice cubes. A great party drink. And the best wine to mix with ice? I love a ‘piscine’ of French rosé. As did Brigitte Bardot, who reputedly invented the name.

Put lots of crushed ice in a glass and pour over Whispering Angel rosé 2024 (RRP £22.50) or a more modestly priced L’Impression Grenache Rosé Vin De France 2024 (RRP £12.99), both from Vintage by SAGA. 

It’s light, refreshing and oozes strawberry fruit – ideal for when you and your friends are relaxing, whether that’s on your allotment or your private yacht.