Wine Not?
“Wine is already this well-constructed, perfectly balanced drink, so why would you add any other ingredients?” Storm Cellar co-owner Jayme Henderson is reading my mind as she posits this question, which often gets asked about wine cocktails. Pointing out that spirits—also painstakingly crafted alcoholic beverages—frequently get mixed and matched, she notes that wine cocktails can be refreshing and lower in alcohol, making them easy to sip at long dinner parties or just when you want to shake things up (pun intended). Plus, you can build some depth and dimension with herbal syrups.
“A wine cocktail can give wine a new life,” says Henderson, who in addition to making wine is a certified sommelier and has experience slinging drinks as a bartender.
Wine cocktails have come a long way since the canned, mass-distributed wine coolers of the ’80s, and by no means are limited to the summery spritzers and sangrias we’re familiar with. Henderson enjoys coming up with complex wine cocktails for The Storm Cellar’s tasting room customers. “It stretches our creativity,” she says.
Henderson's toast to winter in a wine glass is the Paonia Pomme.
