White Wine Spritzer
ClassicWhite wine cut with soda water. The original low-ABV drink, decades ahead of the trend.
Crisp and light, with the soda water diluting the wine's alcohol and body without diluting its flavor much at all — the fruit and acidity stay bright, just stretched further and finished with fine bubbles.
Ingredients
- 4 oz White Wine
- 2 oz Soda Water
- 1 Lemon Wheel
- Lemon wheel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Fill a wine glass with cubed ice.
- 2
Pour in the white wine, then top with soda water.
- 3
Stir once, gently.
- 4
Garnish with a lemon wheel.
The Story
The wine spritzer — a *Weinschorle* to its native Germany and Austria, where mixing wine with sparkling water is a centuries-old, entirely unremarkable everyday habit — became a fixture of American wine bars in the 1970s and 80s, marketed as a lighter, more sessionable alternative to a full glass of wine. It fell out of fashion as a punchline for a while, then came back in earnest once "low-ABV" became something people actively sought rather than apologized for.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
