Best Wine Cocktails

When people think of cocktails, you may think of tequila, whiskey, or vodka... but wine, though one of the most popular drinks around, is not something many think will work in a cocktail.

Sure, everyone's had a Mimosa (sparkling wine mixed with orange juice), but that's not really that much of a cocktail. A Mimosa is something you have over brunch, not after a long day in your apartment, setting down your glass and shaker on that granite counter with the lights of the city shimmering outside your floor-to-ceiling crystal windows.

So, on nights where the cold air blows over the back of your neck as you sit outside your porch with a cocktail in hand, you might want to consider these wine cocktails that may just top off your night with a nice, classy time.

The Star Gazer

Ingredients:

• 2 oz chardonnay
• 1 oz dark rum
• 1/2 oz vanilla bean syrup
• 1/2 oz pineapple juice
• Lime wedge garnish

Not a fan of red wine? This is one of the great white wine cocktails that balances chardonnay's dryer palate with the warm fruitiness of rum and pineapple.

San Francisco Sangria

Ingredients:

• Four cherries
• 1/4 oz simple syrup
• 1 1/2 oz merlot
• 1 oz bourbon
• Lemon slice

Like most good sangrias, you just need to mix the ingredients in a shaker, shake 'em up, and then serve. The hardest part of this is creating the simple syrup, if you don't have any already.

To make a simple syrup, take equal parts sugar and water... and just mix it up until it's a syrup. Otherwise, everything about this is simple and effective.

The Refresher

Ingredients:

• 7 grapes
• 2 mint sprigs
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz chardonnay
• Prosecco

This wonderful drink that lives up to its name is easy to make. Muddle the solid ingredients in a cocktail glass before adding the liquids, let it sit there a little bit after shaking so the flavor spreads, then strain the drink into a glass already with two grapes inside.

Red Splash

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Camarena Tequila Silver
• 1 1/2 oz pinot noir
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz agave nectar
• 2 oz grapefruit soda
• Lime wedge garnish

This wine cocktail has more than a splash of pinot noir, but the real focus here is the tequila and grapefruit soda's mix. The rest of the flavors grant this cocktail a far more classy, breathtaking flavor.

You mix it up as you'd expect. Put it in the shaker with ice, shake it up, and then strain it into a glass.

Red Hot Summer

Ingredients

• 3/4 red wine
• 1/4 lemon-lime soda
• Ice
• Lime wheel garnish

To prepare this refreshing summer wine cocktail, you need to combine this drink either in a mixer or just in a pitcher (after all, you may want to serve this out to your friends on the patio during a blazing summer afternoon). Simply mix it up, put some ice in there, and you're good to go.

French 75

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Pucker Grape Gone Vodka
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1/4 simple syrup
• 1 1/2 oz sparkling wine

In this particular cocktail, the wine is not a core ingredient you pour into the cocktail shaker. The rest of it you shake first, pour first. The wine tops this cocktail off, but, naturally, since nearly a third of this cocktail is sparkling wine, expect a fizzy, delicious taste to this classy looking beverage.

The Summer Cup

Ingredients:

2 oz sparkling white wine

1 oz The King's Ginger Liqueur

2 oz cranberry juice

2 oz lemonade

Some drinks demand to be mixed in a shaker. This one? all you need is a tall cup and a spoon to stir it all together. Perfect for summer days where you just want to mix up a drink and fast. Stir this drink together, and enjoy the magnificence of this drink.

Mamarita

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Sauza Blue Tequila Silver
• 1/2 oz cabernet sauvignon
• 1 oz DeKuyper Triple Sec
• 1 oz agave nectar
• 1 oz lime juice
• Lime twist garnish

This wine cocktail has very little wine in it. The wine is more to balance out the flavor of the tequila, adding a fruitier blend to the drink. While this is not a drink for those who don't enjoy tequila, it is a drink for those who like fruity, exotic flavors.

The way to make it? Guess. Put in shaker. Add ice. Shake. Strain. Drink. This isn't that hard.

Princess of the Hive

Ingredients:

• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz Redtree Moscato
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
• 1/2 oz simple syrup

This cocktail may have very little wine in it, but that doesn't make wine any less of a major ingredient.

As with most cocktails, you simply mix the ingredients into a shaker, mixing everything up inside until evenly mixed up. Then, pour. Strain if you threw some ice into the mixer, which is recommended, as this drink is best served cool.

Apple and Pink Julep

Ingredients

• 10 mint leaves
• 4 oz Croft Pink Port
• 1 oz apple juice

Start by mixing the apple juice and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Muddle it up. Let it get nice and soaked in... and then add the wine. Shake with ice. Pour into a cup. From there, well, if you don't know what to do, you really need help. I mean, you're not going to pour it on your head, are you?

Cherry Jam

Ingredients

• 1 spoon of cherry jam
• 1/3 oz of lemon juice
• 1/3 oz of vodka
• 3 oz of Chandon Brut Classic

This simple wine cocktail is easier than it at first appears. You want to put in the cherry jam into a shaker, before pouring all the other ingredients onto it. This way, you don't splash the juice with the heavier jam when you dump it in. From there, shake it all up. Make it smooth and balanced... and voila. You have a Cherry Jam.