It just so happened that few of us imagine a special occasion or a romantic dinner without a cool drink in a classic tall glass. Its taste does not intoxicate, but creates a feeling of joyful dizziness and happiness. With what only champagne is not served: with red caviar, various cheeses, fruits. And combining champagne with strawberries, you can get a truly delicious experience.
A little about champagne
This alcoholic drink is a real favorite of girls and women. It is distinguished by a light sweet and sour taste, a small degree of alcohol and the presence of many air bubbles, which gives the drink a playfulness.
Depending on the amount of sugar that is added during the preparation process, sweet, semi-sweet and dry champagne are distinguished. In addition, brut champagne is distinguished - there is practically no sugar in its composition.
Girls often prefer sweeter drinks, so the semi-sweet version is the most popular. But brut champagne is rightfully considered the most refined and healthy - through its sour taste you can feel the real charm of the drink.
Alcoholic cocktails whose recipes include champagne are far from uncommon. The taste of this drink is perfectly set off by fruits, natural juices, ice cream and other alcoholic beverages.
sparkling cocktails
Champagne-based cocktails are popular for their pleasant taste and dizzying aftertaste of bubbles.
To prepare strong cocktails, vodka, martini, beater or liquor are added to champagne. The insidiousness of such cocktails lies in the fact that the taste of champagne makes the bitter ones almost imperceptible. And the bubbles of carbon dioxide, in turn, enhance the effect of intoxication. Therefore, it is necessary to use alcoholic cocktails, the recipes of which contain champagne in combination with strong alcohol, with some caution.
Lighter are drinks in which champagne is in harmony with non-alcoholic ingredients. As an addition to sparkling wine, natural juices of lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange are excellent. at home, they can include any berries and fruits that are at hand - you can show taste and imagination.
Strawberries as an appetizer
As an addition to champagne, noble cheeses, grapes and even red caviar are often served. But the classic romantic combination remains the union of champagne and strawberries.
To get the highest pleasure from the process, you need to know a few subtleties of how to drink champagne with strawberries.
Berries must first be washed well and cooled. The stalks should not be torn off. Whole berries are served on a separate appetizer platter, next to chilled champagne glasses.
You can also peel the strawberries from the stalks and cut lengthwise into two halves. In this case, you need to serve special fruit forks or skewers to prick strawberry halves.
A beautiful decoration of a glass of cold champagne is half a strawberry strung on the edge of the glass. After a sip of champagne, you can immediately feel the combination of wine and strawberry flavors.
Simple combination
Incredible strawberry flavor can also be used in a cocktail by mixing it with champagne. Cocktail (champagne with strawberries) has many variations, more or less complex composition.
One of the simplest, but very tasty combinations, is the following recipe.
- You need to take 50 grams of fresh ripe strawberries. Peel the berries from the stalks, wash and chop.
- Mix the resulting strawberry puree with 100 g of white ice cream without additives.
- Pour the mixture into a champagne glass.
- Pour 50 ml of cold brut champagne into a glass and gently stir with a small spoon.
- Garnish the cocktail with mint leaves.
Such a simple cocktail, which is based on champagne with strawberries, will decorate any table and pleasantly surprise guests, without causing any trouble in preparation.
Multi-ingredient cocktail
For more sophisticated lovers of alcoholic cocktails, there are a huge number of recipes with a large number of ingredients.
Do not forget about the insidiousness of such drinks and abuse them. The following compound cocktail has a pleasant harmonious taste, the basis of which is also champagne with strawberries:
- 100 grams of ripe strawberries should be thoroughly washed, peeled and ground with 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- In a cocktail shaker or mixer bowl, you need to put 1 tablespoon of crushed ice, 15 ml of cognac, 5 ml of Curacao liqueur.
- Berry puree with sugar must be added to the alcohol mixture with ice and mix thoroughly.
- Pour a little of the mixture into a chilled champagne glass, carefully add 70 ml of champagne and gently stir with a spoon.
Such a cocktail is distinguished by an exquisite taste, complemented by subtle notes of cognac and liquor.
Is it suitable for everyone?
Alcoholic cocktails should be consumed in moderation: their pleasant taste causes a deceptive feeling and makes you forget that you are drinking an alcoholic drink. The consequences of the abuse of cocktails are very sad - mixing different types of alcohol leads to an increased effect of intoxication and an additional load on the liver. Therefore, you should always remember about moderation.
The combination of "champagne with strawberries" should be especially carefully used by people prone to allergic reactions. The two main components of such a cocktail themselves have a fairly high degree of allergenicity. And in combination, they enhance the similar effect of each other several times.
Therefore, if you have a tendency to allergic reactions, especially to berries, then it is better to choose a cocktail with other ingredients or limit yourself to a glass of champagne combined with a piece of cheese.
Champagne-based alcoholic cocktails are a great way to diversify the festive table and surprise your guests. They always turn out delicious and are easy to prepare. But do not forget about moderation and abuse such drinks, because then health problems will replace the festive atmosphere.
But here is an alcoholic drink of this kind called Fragolino has a pronounced aroma and taste of strawberries or strawberries.
That is why, and also due to the low fortress, he is especially loved by women in many countries of the world.
Fragolino is a grape champagne that is of Italian origin.
It is made from Isabella grapes, which has a pleasant berry or strawberry aftertaste, depending on the location of the vine and the technology of preparation.
At the same time, many manufacturers today enhance the unique taste and aroma by artificial additives or syrups of the berries of the same name. But such production cannot be considered original, because the real recipe does not provide for such extraneous additives.
Peculiarities:
- Fragolino is produced only in Italy and only in a few wineries.
- It is sold in champagne bottles made of thick glass and having a greenish color.
- Champagne itself can have both a rich ruby and golden straw color, depending on its type.
Important! A distinctive feature of Fragolino sparkling wine, in addition to its unusual taste and aroma, is its low strength. The alcohol content in it is not more than 7.5 revolutions.
The combination of a pleasant light aroma, sweet taste and long aftertaste, together with a weak strength, made this champagne one of the most beloved not only among Italians, but also among residents of other countries.
The greatest demand for it is in the hot season, and the bulk of consumers are women.
strawberry
It has a mild and pleasant aroma and a southern berry aftertaste.
Today, the following varieties of this champagne are presented on store shelves:
- Morando- This is a red sparkling wine that has a dark ruby color and slight purple tints. The taste is pronounced strawberry, and there are subtle fruity notes in the aftertaste.
- Morando Fragolino Brindate. The color of this champagne is ruby violet, and the taste is very rich and velvety. Here, the main taste tone is set by strawberries, and is complemented by a strawberry aftertaste.
These two types of sparkling wine differ not only in their strawberry flavor and aroma, but also in their rich color.
Strawberry
Unlike the previous variety of the drink, strawberries set the main tone here - the closest berry to strawberries, which differs from it in greater sweetness and a more pronounced and appetizing aroma.
This type of champagne includes:
- Fiorelli Fragolino Bianco- a white alcoholic drink that has an attractive straw color. The aroma is very pronounced, characteristic of wild strawberries, the taste is sweetish, the aftertaste is harmonious and long.
- Fiorelli Fragolino Rosso- gentle and pleasant champagne with the aroma and taste of freshly picked wild strawberries. The color is rich purple, which has delicate ruby tints.
Reference! There are two more types of Fragolino - Santero Fragolino Classic and Giogiosa Fragolino Dolce. Both drinks belong to the category of red sparkling sweet wines. But their taste and aroma is very complex and combined, which most successfully combines notes of strawberries and strawberries.
It is simply impossible to single out one leading berry in such a bouquet.
Watch a video showing the types of Fragolino champagne:
How to drink?
In order to fully appreciate the aroma and taste of this light, low-alcohol fruit champagne, it must be used correctly:
- A drink is a must chill before serving. To do this, it should be placed in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Before pouring champagne into glasses, open the bottle should be kept on the table for about 15 minutes. This will help the flavor to develop better.
- Fragolino is served in any color and degree of sweetness. only in champagne glasses. At the same time, they should be held by the leg, as far as possible from the bowl, so that the drink does not heat up ahead of time.
- Drink in slow sips enjoying a pleasant berry aftertaste.
- Before the first sip, it is recommended to carry the glass as close to the nose as possible in order to appreciate the divine aroma.
Due to the low strength, this champagne does not need special snacks.
Fragolino is called "ladies" and "summer" - indeed, it is a sweet wine (only 7.5% alcohol) with a distinct strawberry-strawberry flavor. The paradox is that no foreign fruits are used in the production, just the Isabella grape variety (Vitis Labrusca) itself has a strawberry aftertaste. Some manufacturers enhance the effect with juice or syrup, but these additives are not included in the original recipe, if they are used, the label must indicate that this is a wine drink.
Variety history. Most Fragolino wines are produced in the northeast of Italy. The name "Fragolino" itself comes from the Italian word fragola (strawberry) with a diminutive suffix, so it can be loosely translated as "strawberry". For production, the Vitis Labrusca variety is used, which was considered wild a hundred years ago. This variety has mutated and hybridized so many times that it is now almost impossible to trace its homeland, but most connoisseurs agree that the Labrusco grape came to Europe from the New World.
It is said that the grapes of this family were used in France for the production of Framboisier, and in the British Isles they made "fox wine" - an alcoholic drink with a characteristic tart smell. Now the Fragolino variety is used to produce not only fine (and at the same time quite affordable) wine, but also coarser and stronger drinks, such as grappa.
Vitis Labrusca (Isabella) - grape for Fragolino Ban on industrial production of Fragolino
It is almost impossible to buy real Fragolino wine or champagne in stores: the fact is that the industrial production of this delicious wine is prohibited in the EU in general, and Italy in particular. There are several versions of this decision of the authorities. The official one sounds like this: during the manufacturing process of Fragolino, methanol is released, and if its level exceeds the permissible norm, the drink will become poisonous.
Another reason is that vitis labrusca grapes are said to have contributed to the spread of the phylloxera epidemic in Europe, but this version does not stand up to scrutiny, since European vineyards fell ill much earlier than this variety was introduced to the market.
Finally, there is another reason: as mentioned above, this variety is most likely from America, and the European authorities do not want to promote the spread of "non-European" products.
There is even a very simple explanation: the Isabella variety produces delicious, fragrant and cheap wine, and French winemakers, on the one hand, are unprofitable for such competition, and on the other hand, it’s a shame that some American variety could outshine the famous French wines.
Be that as it may, drinking fragolino, as well as producing it for your own needs, is not prohibited, so in Italy you can find small farms where you will be treated to delicious strawberry wine. In addition, this drink is extremely popular in the Austrian Burgenland. In this small region, the authorities turn a blind eye to non-compliance with the ban - the locals are very fond of refreshing summer wine.
Fragolino in the store
Despite the ban, fragolino is still found on the shelves of European and Russian supermarkets, and this is not necessarily a cheap fake.
Italian winemakers slightly change the recipe by adding freshly squeezed strawberry juice to the pulp. The result is a drink that completely imitates the taste of the real Fragolino, but is not subject to the ban.
Champagne Fragolino Sometimes on the labels they write not “wine”, but “wine drink”, and thus bypass the legislation.
How to drink Fragolino
In total, there are three types of this wine on the market:
- Fragolino Rosso - sweet red wine;
- Fragolino Bianco - semi-sweet white;
- Fragolino sparkling wine - sparkling wine (analogous to champagne), it comes in both red and white.
White Fragolino Any kind of Fragolino goes well with desserts: fruit pies, meringues, cookies, raisins, prunes, peaches, apricots. When serving, the wine should be cooled to a temperature of +6-8°C.
Of the Fragolino producers, Duchessa Lia is especially well known.
Not only fresh, but also frozen strawberries are suitable for us, which can be harvested during the harvest season or purchased in supermarkets all year round. Previously, the berries are separated from the stalks, washed well and thrown into a colander, allowing the water to drain.
Strawberries with cream
A light, tasty dessert that goes well with champagne.
Ingredients:
- strawberries - 300 grams;
- cream (23-35%) - 150 ml;
- sugar - 2 tablespoons (or to taste);
- grated chocolate - 20 grams (optional).
1. Cut strawberries into small pieces of arbitrary shape.
2. Whip cream with sugar until thick.
3. Fill the cups with pieces of berries, then pour them with cream.
4. Top with grated chocolate.
Cocktails with strawberries and champagne
1. Champagne Ice
An original combination of sparkling wine, ice cream and strawberries.
- champagne - 50 ml;
- ice cream ice cream - 100 grams;
- strawberries - 50 grams;
- mint - 2-3 leaves.
Preparation: cut strawberries and mint into pieces, put the pieces in a glass. Add ice cream and pour in champagne. Drink the liquid part of the cocktail through a straw, eat the rest with a spoon.
Champagne Ice 2. "Rossini".
A low-alcohol cocktail named after the 19th-century Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini.
- sparkling wine (champagne, asti, proseco) - 120 ml;
- strawberries - 75 grams;
- lemon juice - 2-3 drops;
- sugar - to taste.
Preparation: beat strawberries with sugar in a blender, add lemon juice. If the puree is not very sweet, add more sugar and beat again. Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 60 minutes. Mix 1 part puree and 2 parts cold champagne in a shaker. Pour the finished cocktail into a glass through a strainer.
Rossini Champagne jelly with strawberries
It is easy to surprise guests with this dish by taking glasses with amazing contents from the refrigerator.
Ingredients:
- sweet champagne - 400 ml;
- lemon - 1 piece;
- sugar - 3 tablespoons;
- gelatin - 15 grams;
- water - 100 ml;
- strawberries - 250 grams.
1. Wash the lemon in hot water, remove the zest (yellow part) and squeeze out the juice.
2. Mix water, sugar and lemon zest in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a spoon and immediately remove from heat. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth.
3. Add gelatin and lemon juice to the syrup, mix well.
4. Strain again through cheesecloth to get rid of undissolved gelatin.
5. Pour the champagne into the pan, then add the gelatin mixture.
6. Peeled washed strawberries cut into slices and put in champagne glasses.
7. Pour in the champagne just to cover the layer of berries.
8. Put the glasses in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes, then remove and repeat step 7.
9. Top up with champagne without strawberries. Keep in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
If we draw a parallel between store-bought and homemade champagne, then the latter in most cases will be in a winning position. This is no coincidence, since in the store you can buy a low-quality sparkling drink, which, in fact, has nothing to do with real champagne. And for such a "disgrace" you will have to pay some more money.
If you familiarize yourself with the information on how to make strawberry champagne, find the best recipe, then you can make a drink that is truly divine and superior in quality to the store version.
The foam, which distinguishes champagne from other alcoholic beverages, is formed due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide. Foaming is achieved due to a special technology for making wine:
- by natural fermentation of young wine in closed bottles;
- by artificial addition of carbon dioxide.
Of course, in the first case, sparkling wine is much more aromatic and more pleasant to the taste. In the second case, the foam is formed instantly, but disappears just as quickly, besides, there is no point in expecting any aroma or refreshing taste from such a drink.
Having set priorities and determined which method of achieving foaming is preferable, they begin the process of making homemade strawberry champagne.
You can make strawberry champagne based on the standard scheme for making homemade champagne:
- Preparation of strawberry young wine.
- Bottling and carrying out the fermentation process in bottles.
- Disgorgement (removal of the resulting dense sediment).
- Flavoring.
- Installing the cork, fixing it.
- Aging wine for quality improvement.
To make young wine, you need to take strawberries, sort them out, removing damaged berries, and then extract the juice from them. The juice is poured into any containers, except for metal ones, since contact with metal contributes to oxidation, due to which the taste of the wine will not be very pleasant.
You can not extract the juice from strawberries, but place them in a container and crush all the berries well. Then leave the crushed mass for a day to start the fermentation process. The next day, juice is squeezed out of this mass using a gauze cut folded in several layers, you can also use a thick white canvas, previously washed in water.
Water and sugar are added to the resulting juice, mixing thoroughly so that the sugar is completely dissolved.
To make the wine fragrant and tasty, it is very important to maintain the exact ratio of water, strawberries and sugar:
- strawberry juice - 1 kg;
- water - 0.5 l;
- sugar - 1 kg
The resulting wort is filtered, and then poured into a prepared fermentation tank. Such a container can be glass and wooden. Of course, a wooden container is best suited for high-quality champagne or wine, but for those who decide to make strawberry champagne for the first time, it is best to use a glass container, in the neck of which a gas outlet pipe is subsequently installed.
Initially, the neck of the container is covered with gauze and left for a day. If fermentation does not begin within the specified period, a small handful of raisins are added to the must.
Now a tight lid with a gas outlet tube is installed on the neck of the container. It is very important to ensure the sealing of the vessel so that air can only escape through a tube, the other end of which is placed in a container of water.
The fermentation process can occur for a different number of days, it all depends on the temperature regime, the quality of the must. Most often, rapid fermentation passes within a month, and slow fermentation lasts about three weeks.
At the moment when there is no rapid fermentation in the must, the wine itself has become significantly lighter, and sediment has formed at the bottom, it is considered that the first stage of obtaining strawberry champagne is completed.
Young strawberry wine is bottled, each one is filled;
- sugar - 1 tsp;
- grapes (or raisins) - 3 berries.
The bottle should be filled almost completely, then it is tightly corked and fixed with twine or metal wire. This will prevent its self-extraction during the fermentation process. Bottling young wine is recommended to be carried out in a cool room and quickly to minimize the loss of carbon dioxide.
Bottles are better to take with thick walls, durable. Those bottles in which store champagne was previously purchased are ideal.
Filled bottles are placed in a room that maintains a warm air temperature. Bottles are stacked only in the supine position. The fermentation period of wine in bottles reaches three months. If any bottle breaks during this time, action must be taken to lower the room temperature.
By lowering the air temperature in the room, the pressure decreases, but at the same time it is necessary to increase the fermentation period of strawberry champagne.
After three months, the bottles are transferred for two weeks to a cool space where the temperature does not exceed 15 degrees. Next, the bottles are laid in an inclined position with their necks down. Once a day, the bottles are rotated to maintain conditions in which the sediment is concentrated near the cork.
The next step is disgorging the wine. If you really want to make strawberry champagne in accordance with all the rules, you should not skip it, but you should understand that this process is one of the most difficult, so you need to have practical experience, because actions must be carried out extremely quickly.
The purity of champagne, as well as its effervescence, depends on the quality of disgorging.
The room in which the champagne is located should be cooled to 10 degrees. This will significantly prevent the loss of carbon dioxide.
You also need to prepare:
- new plugs;
- twine or metal wire;
- liqueur or ready-made strawberry wine.
The disgorging process is carried out according to the following scheme:
- A bottle of homemade strawberry champagne is taken carefully, without shaking the contents.
- The bottle is also held in an inclined position with the stopper down.
- Carefully remove the twine or wire, and then gently pull out the cork.
- After removing the cork, part of the wine with sediment is poured out. Losses should be minimal, so after the sediment comes out, you must immediately cover the neck with your fingers.
After the successful completion of the disgorgement, they proceed to a new stage - topping up and flavoring. Well, if the process is carried out by two people, then all actions will be much easier to perform. The first, after disgorging, passes the bottle to the second person, who sets the bottle upright and quickly tops up the prepared wine or liquor into it. Action must be taken quickly to prevent significant loss of carbon dioxide.
Strawberry champagne bottles prepared in this way are transferred to a room with a temperature of 8-10 degrees for additional aging, on which the quality of champagne depends. The holding period is at least three months. However, the longer the aging period, the better and tastier the strawberry champagne will be.
Strawberry champagne, made according to this recipe, is fragrant, refreshing and unusually tasty. Anyone can make strawberry champagne, following all the recommendations provided by the technology.
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