Granita or Glühwein? Get festive with Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir!
Granita or Glühwein? Get festive with Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir!

Granita Or Glühwein? Get Festive With Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir!

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Spier Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir is not only delightful at brunch or on a picnic: it’s also the key ingredient in two very special festive drinks. Whether you’re lolling by the pool in the southern hemisphere or cosy by the fire up north, these two recipes have your Christmastime covered.

Summertime celebrating: The Spier Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Granita

Combining Spier Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir with fresh strawberries and thyme results in granita: a luscious, delicately flavoured frozen dessert. The perfect show-stopping conclusion to a lavish dinner, it’s also brilliant served as a palate cleanser served during a multi-course feast. We also rather like it by the pool when the mercury is soaring and you fancy something stylish to cool you down.

Ingredients (serves six):

  • 250 ml (1 cup) Spier Chardonnay/Pinot Noir
  • 1/2 cup regular white sugar
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 250 g fresh strawberries, stalks/hulls removed
  • a squirt of fresh lemon juice

Method:

  1. Place half the wine in a small saucepan with the sugar and thyme. Heat to the beginning of a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat, swirling until the sugar has dissolved.
  2. In a blender, add the remaining wine, strawberries and lemon juice. Remove the thyme sprigs from the hot syrup mixture, then add the syrup to the blender. Blend on high speed to a very smooth pulp.
  3. Transfer to a wide plastic container, cover with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate overnight (or longer, but not less than 8 hours). The granita will never freeze completely due to the alcohol and sugar content.
  4. At serving time, quickly use a fork to scrape the granita into the desired number of glasses.

A winter wonder: The Spier Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir Glühwein

Glühwein and other types of mulled wines typically use red wine; our take offers a deliciously memorable alternative. The blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir brings a sleek, vivacious elegance to this Christmastime classic, and imparts a gorgeous warmer colour: the perfect pairing for the fireside.

Ingredients (serves six):

  • 1 medium orange
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup turbinado or granulated sugar
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 1 bottle of Signature Chardonnay/Pinot Noir

Method:

  1. Pour the water and sugar into a pot; place on the stove with the heat on high.
  2. While you wait for it to boil, peel as much zest from the orange as you can. Set aside.
  3. Once the water has boiled, reduce heat to medium-low.
  4. Add the wine.
  5. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the pot.
  6. Add the zest, the squeezed orange halves, and other remaining ingredients.
  7. Keep the mixture stewing on a low heat for at least 20 minutes and up to 2 hours. (Be sure to not let it boil!)