Cocktails Using Wine

[thirtyoneknots]

I tried to find a thread similar to this but searching for 'wine cocktails' on eGullet is like trying to drink from a firehose, so please forgive me if this has been covered before.

So obviously aperitif wines like vermouth and lillet (one of my favorite ingredients to mix) are staples of cocktail culture, since cocktails are typically employed as aperitifs in their own right. And of course champagne and other sparkling wines also hold an important place in the Cocktail Kingdom.

What I am more in search of though is cocktail recipes that employ table wines of all kinds, and to a lesser degree fortified wines like sherry and port (though these are much more common). Most of the cocktail recipes I have seen that employ wine did not excite me enough to try them, and the few that I did try left me unimpressed. An extremely notable exception would be the wonderful Falling Leaves by Ms. Audrey Saunders, which I tried recently with the Poire William I gave my girlfriend's mom for Christmas. The highly excellent nature of this drink gave me confidence that wine cocktails are not only possible, but can compete with cocktails of other types, though I was hoping for a few other ideas on directions to take. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

-Andy

[Dave Hatfield]

The classic wine based cocktail, if it can be described as such, would seem to be the humble kir or it's upmarket cousin the kir royal.

Cassis is traditional as the flavouring, but a whole range of other flavours are used.

What a great way to improve the taste of poor wine.