Tinto de Verano: A Refreshing and Easy Summer Drink

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Tinto de verano, anyone? With the hot summer we’re experiencing in Miami, people are soaking in their pools until midnight. For me, a heat wave only means it’s time for tinto de verano, the easiest red wine cocktail!

Tinto de verano in a glass garnished with a wedge of lemon, by enrilemoine.

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What is Tinto de verano?

Tinto de verano is a popular summer drink in Spain. We have inherited the love for this simple and refreshing drink. It’s often consumed during the hot summer months. Tinto de verano translates to “summer red wine,” widely available in bars and restaurants.

Why you will love this recipe?

Spanish Summer Red Wine, in the making, by enrilemoine.

This is a simple drink, yet refreshing and delicious. Made with red wine and carbonated beverages, typically lemon-lime soda, preparing tinto de verano is a breeze! You only have to mix equal parts of young red wine and the lemon-lime soda of your choice, then serve it over ice cubes with lemon slices (you also add orange slices). And that’s it!

Sangria or Tinto de verano?

A glass of refreshing Tinto de Verano, a Spanish summer red wine cocktail, plus all the ingredients to make this cocktail, by enrilemoine.

With fewer ingredients, tinto de verano is a simpler and more casually consumed drink in Spain than traditional sangria, another Spanish wine-based beverage with more ingredients. Tinto de verano provides a delightful and easy way to enjoy wine on a hot summer day.

You can make it in a large pitcher as they do in restaurants. Or pour the wine over ice in individual glasses, complete with the lemon soda, and enjoy the sparkles.

A glass of Tinto de Verano, a Spanish summer red wine recipe featuring lemon, by enrilemoine.

When it is hot in Spain, instead of sangria -which we love in Venezuela, or the delicious white wine sangria that is trendy in the US, Spaniards drink tinto de verano. They have gazpacho and drink tinto de verano. Easy!

What is the best red wine to make Tinto de Verano?

When making tinto de verano, you don’t necessarily need a high-end or expensive wine. After all, the wine will be mixed with citrus soda, diluting and altering its original flavor. So, choose red table wine, like the wine you’ll drink with your everyday meal.

A glass of Tinto de Verano, a refreshing Spanish summer drink, with a lemon slice on top, by enrilemoine.

I made the tinto de verano in the pictures with a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Some of the best wines to make tinto de verano include:

Tempranillo: Made with a grape variety widely grown in Spain and often used for easy-drinking young red wines.
Garnacha (Grenache): Another popular Spanish grape, it produces fruity and juicy wines.
Monastrell (Mourvèdre): Often found in southern Spain, wines made from this grape can be a bit more intense but still blend well in a tinto de verano mix.
Rioja: While aged Riojas are more complex and might be better enjoyed independently, young or Rioja joven can be more approachable and fruit-forward, making them suitable for mixing.
La Mancha Reds: Wines from the La Mancha region can be quite affordable and are often used in restaurants and bars in Spain for tinto de verano.
Other inexpensive Spanish reds: Any wine that’s not too tannic or overly complex can be a good choice. Look for wines labeled Joven (young) from various wine regions of Spain.

Variations on a theme

Tinto de Verano Recipe: Spanish Summer Red Wine with lemon.

I like to keep this perfect summer drink simple: equal parts of wine and lemon soda. However, you may want to try a few variations, including adding a splash of vermouth or rum.

If you want to skip the lemon soda, substitute it with club soda, a.k.a. soda water or sparkling water, and add a teaspoon of my homemade lemon syrup, which is like simple syrup, but made with lemon.

Women toasting at a restaurant with Tinto de Verano, a Spanish Summer Red Wine, by enrilemoine. — *Tinto de verano* afternoon in Miami.

Easy Tinto de Verano Recipe

The following is the recipe card for the classic tinto de verano. I hope you like this Spanish drink as much as we do.

Spanish summer red wine cocktail named Tinto de Verano, by enrilemoine.

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Red sangria with lemon wedge and Spanish summer red wine recipe.

5 from 10 votes

Tinto de Verano

Spanish Tinto de verano is a summer red wine cocktail. Serve it in a wine glass with ice and a slice of lemon, and that’s it. I promise you’ll feel like you are on a sunny terrace in Madrid or overlooking the Mediterranean at first sip.

Prep Time3

Total Time3

Calories: 228kcal

Ingredients

1 bottle of red wine preferably Spanish Grenache, Tempranillo, or Rioja joven.
Lemon-Lime Soda Sprite, or 7 Up
Lemon slices
Ice cubes

Instructions

Pour the wine into a glass with ice cubes and a slice of lemon.
Fill half of the glass with wine.
Add lemon soda to complete.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Tinto de Verano

Amount Per Serving

Calories 228

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.02g0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.01g

Sodium 25mg1%

Potassium 240mg7%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Fiber 0.2g1%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 0.4g1%

Vitamin A 5IU0%

Vitamin C 4mg5%

Calcium 20mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Cocktails and Drinks

Cuisine: Spanish

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: how to make tinto de verano, Tinto de verano, tinto de verano recipe

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Enri

Soy una escritora que cocina o una cocinera que escribe: el orden de los factores de no altera el producto. Desde 2010 hice de SAVOIR FAIRE el lugar donde convergen mis dos pasiones y ahora desarrollo recetas profesionalmente y trabajo como estratega y creadora de contenidos digitales, incluyendo la producción de videos de cocina. Disfruta mis recetas.