Wine with water or in cocktails? Here's why it is not a mortal sin
So you can drink wine in summer in an alternative way, at the cost of angering purists
3' min read
3' min read
The trend and the numbers speak for themselves: the consumption of white wine or sparkling wine, especially in summer, with the addition of ice or water is on the rise, as is the use of wine in mixology: a trend that is clearly successful in the United States and has also been widespread in Italy for some time. Adding water to wine is a historically widespread practice, starting in ancient Greece.
In Venice, the workers in the Arsenale, the city's huge and now disused shipyard, drank white wine diluted with water during their work breaks; so it is highly probable that the soldiers of the Austrian troops - to whom the birth of the spritz is traced by tradition - simply adopted a practice already established there. Even today, true Venetians - understood as natives - when they ask for a spritz in one of the many 'bacari' they mean water and wine, not the modern and popular mix of bitter and prosecco.
With the peace of mind of the most intransigent wine lovers (and with the hope of a little leniency from professional sommeliers), I say that the marriage of water and wine does not shock me at all and can be a pleasant remedy to the summer heat in place of the various carbonated drinks, full of sugar or chemical sweeteners.
With the exception of wines of excellent quality and high prestige - which you will do me the amiable courtesy of avoiding diluting with water - I have real evidence of how often it is appropriate to inflict that gesture on modest products, which for matters of style and good worldly use I will avoid mentioning here.
On the other hand, it is true that a glass of water is totally tasteless, so in the case of summer sunburn, adding two fingers of wine, possibly white, can be a good remedy to make the need to hydrate more palatable. As a simple house drink, you can try adding Moscato d'Asti and a mint leaf to a glass of water and ice (and be patient if the purist extremists get a perm), but it's a pretty good and very thirst-quenching version of Spritz.
Among the pleasant variants, I suggest the 'Spritz genovese' signed by the historic cocktail bar Le Rouge in Piazza Campetto, which is based on wine flavoured with different Ligurian botanicals, among which basil obviously stands out. A perfect summer drink, cool to serve with plenty of ice and a basil leaf as garnish.
