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Wine cocktail recipes perfect for New Year's Eve


It is soon time to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016. Whether you are celebrating in York, Hershey, Lancaster or beyond, you can welcome in the New Year with one of these tasty wine cocktails.

Champagne Punch

If you are hosting a party, I suggest a Champagne Punch.  It is also great for brunch New Year’s Day.  Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1 bottle of Champagne

1/2 cup Cointreau

1/2 cup Grenadine

1/3 cup Brandy

Orange slice to garnish

Mix Cointreau, grenadine and brandy and chill. Chill bottle of champagne. Just before company arrives, pour into a punch bowl and add ice and raspberries to garnish. Note:  You can substitute Triple Sec for Cointreau and a dry Prosecco or Cava for Champagne for a less expensive version.

Raspberry/Peach Bellini

A recipe for something nice to fill your glass would be my recipe for a fruity Bellini.

Ingredients

1 ounce peach liquor

½ ounce vodka

3 ounces Champagne

1 small scoop of raspberry sherbet

Raspberry to garnish

Drop a small scoop of raspberry sherbet in bottom of a flute and pour champagne over the sherbet. Mix Peach liquor and vodka in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain. Pour into flute and garnish with a raspberry.

Be Italian

This drink I named, “Be Italian” because it reminds me of one of my trips to the Almafi Coast in Italy and Taromina Sicily and sipping wines in the beautiful landscape smelling the lemons growing.  Imagine the gorgeous Italian coastlines every time you drink this favorite.

Ingredients

¾ ounce Limoncello

½ clementine

1 ½ ounce Prosecco

1 ounce vodka

½ ounce honey

½ teaspoon warm water

¾ ounce lemon juice

Mix the honey and warm water in a small dish and set aside. Muddle the clementine in a cocktail shaker. Add the honey, vodka, and Limoncello and shake over ice. Strain and pour the Prosecco in the top of the glass.

Tips

Your Fine Wine and Good Spirits website has a great section to help you with your party planning.

It will help you select the proper amount of wine and/or spirits to serve your party guests responsibly, party theme ideas, and ideas for hosting a wine tasting.

Many of you will be celebrating with Champagne when you ring in the New Year, but I have a selection for you to try from France and it isn’t called Champagne because it is from the Loire Valley. Pick up a bottle of Maurice Bonnamy Brut Rosé Cremant de Loire. This wine is made from the Cabernet Franc grape in the traditional method on 25 year old vines.  This wine has plenty of sparkling bubbles and has plenty of fruit aroma and taste.  Available in York, Shrewsbury, and Hanover Fine Wine and Good Spirits stores for $11.99

As you are thinking of your resolutions for 2016, make it a wine resolution. Learn a bit more about wine and expand your horizons. Try a different grape varietal each month.  Take a tasting trip to a wine region in Argentina, France, Germany, South Africa, Australia, Washington State, New York, or California. You can find some great wines close by in Maryland and Virginia and it would make a great long weekend. Happy Wine Year to all!