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The Pina Vina is a blended white wine drink, which is a category most people do not know exists. Three ounces of white wine go into a blender with pineapple chunks, lemon juice and a glassful of crushed ice, and what comes out is somewhere between a wine cooler and a frozen daiquiri without the rum.
It is light by cocktail standards. There is no spirit in it at all, so the whole drink lands somewhere near the strength of a single glass of wine spread across a much larger serving. That makes it a genuinely useful thing to know about for a hot afternoon, when a frozen drink is appealing but five ounces of rum is not. Use pineapple chunks rather than juice, because the fruit pulp is what gives it body once the ice breaks down.
Glass: Red wine glass | Strength: Light | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 3 minutes
Bartender’s tip: Pick a wine with some sweetness and some aroma. A dry Sauvignon Blanc disappears completely behind the pineapple and you end up with an expensive slushie. A Riesling or a Gewurztraminer holds its own and the wine actually reads. Do not use anything you would be sad to blend, since freezing and pulping flattens out subtlety and there is no point paying for nuance you are about to destroy. The half ounce of lemon juice is not optional, it is the only thing keeping this from tasting flat.
Steps
- Blend with a glassful of crushed ice in a blender until smooth.
- Pour into a goblet, and garnish with a pineapple chunk and a slice of lemon.
