Sparkling Summer Herb Recipes…………….

Summer is one of the most bountiful times of the year.  With freshness bursting at the seams, we try our best to indulge in all summer has to offer.  For me, drinking wine becomes a very different experience in the summer; my palette changes drastically when it comes to wine.  Heavy wines, which are a BIG draw for me any other times of the year, get shelved in the summer and I switch to more cooling and crisp whites, cold lambruscos, or softer reds and rosés.  Not only do the lighter wines have a more refreshing effect on my body in general with the summer heat, but I find myself drawn to the bubblies as a means to experiment with summer’s bounty.

My passion for fresh herbs and the soothing, cooling quality of Cava and Prosecco has me on a “kick” lately and I’m blending up cocktails using the fresh ripe peak offerings of summer time in my herbal cocktails.  I find sparkling cocktails to be not only utterly refreshing, but, as I eat less in the summer they allow me to feel like I’m “cooking” all season by incorporating sweet & luscious ingredients including all the fresh herbs.

Cava and Prosecco are perfect partners for these sparkling cocktails for two reasons.  One, they are economical and two, their bubbly flavors marry well with herbs, spices and fruits.  There really aren’t any tell tale rules to making sparkling cocktails, it’s all a matter of taste and preference and what one person likes the other may not!  You can’t really screw it up!  For instance, I do not enjoy sweet drinks very much so most of my recipes and concoctions tend to highlight sour, tart or bitter notes, but, I’m throwing in some sweeter recipes because I am a people pleaser at heart!

There are a few important things to note before we get into the recipes for our basic (very basic) knowledge of drinking, serving and understanding the bubbly. First, we have come to call most bubblies CHAMPAGNE, but, technically only sparkling wines made in the region of Champagne, France can be labeled, sold and even called Champagne!  Champagne was the first of all the sparkling wines and is by far the most famous. Spain and Italy have also been producing sparkling wines for centuries so there is no lack of knowledge here.  Spanish sparkling wine, called Cava, can be slightly sweet and gets its name from the caves from which the wines were, and in some cases, are still made.  Italian sparkling wine, called Prosecco, is more fruity and dry.  Prosecco got its name from the varietal of white grapes from which the wine is produced.  All sparkling wines contain bubbles of carbon dioxide, or as we say, the “bubbly”!

How are sparkling wines produced?

- Grapes are harvested and in the normal winemaking way a white wine is produced.  The grape varietals differ by region, wine quality and type of wine produced, fermented and all.

- The bottles are filled with wines and a mixture of yeast and sugar is added and a secondary fermentation process is started.  The wines are then transferred to a cellar or room.

- The second fermentation process is the part where the yeast converts the sugar into carbon dioxide.  This second fermentation process occurs in the bottle and lasts for nine months at a temperature between 55 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

- During this stage the bottles are turned occasionally.  In most cases the bottles are turned by machines and computers, but, in many cases they are still turned by hand!  The turning is what keeps the residues contained in the necks of the bottles.

- The neck of the bottles are then frozen and the sediments are forced out and the bottle is re-corked.

Viola the bubbly is here!

One of the key things to remember when serving bubbly, whether it be in a cocktail or on its own, is that it should remain very cold.  It should be stored and served around 46-48 degrees Fahrenheit.  The colder it is the longer the bubbles will last.  Also serve the bubbly in chilled glasses for longer bubbly bubbles!

Now that we have the basic tid bits of knowledge, we can move on to making our hot summer much, much cooler with our refreshing and cooling sparkling herbal concoctions!

Enjoy!

Blueberry Mint Cavatini

A delicious way to enjoy the summer blueberry season and get your drink on!

Makes 1

2 ounces vodka

¼ cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon ripped mint leaves

1 ounce Cava

Place vodka, blueberries  and mint in a shaker, muddle blueberries until smashed well.  Add Cava and fill with ice, shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a blueberry and mint leaf.

Ginger Beet Prosecco

Sweet earthy and spicy this recipe is sure to bring decadence back into your summer dinner parties with its exotic flavor and deep fusica color!

Makes 1

1 ounce Ginger beet syrup

Prosecco

Place one ounce of ginger beet syrup in a chilled champagne glass and fill with Prosecco.

For the ginger beet syrup place 2 tablespoon grated & peeled  fresh ginger & 2 medium peeled red beets cut into cubes in a saucepan with ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3-4 minutes, cool and strain.

NJ Peach Tarragon Bellini

Local never tasted so good with this delightful classic brunch cocktail.

Makes 1

1 ounce Peach Tarragon Syrup

Prosecco or Cava

Place one ounce of peach tarragon syrup  in a chilled Champagne glass and fill with prosecco or cava.

For the syrup place 1 fresh peach sliced thin & ½ cup fresh tarragon in a saucepan with ½ cup water and ½ cup sugar.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3-4 minutes, cool and strain.

Raspberry Sage Prosecco

Deep aromatic sage blends in an amazingly masculine way with the femininity of the tart raspberry, sure to make a hit with the crowd.

Makes 1

Sage leaves

Frozen Raspberries

Prosecco

Rub Sage leaves over the rim of the champagne class, fill with Prosecco, garnish with sage leaves and a frozen raspberry.

Lemon Verbena Basil Cava Cooler

This exotic and intoxicating cooler will wow you and it's stronger than it tastes so look out!

Makes 1

2 ounces gin

1 ounce of fresh squeezed organce juice

1 ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon basil leaves

1 tablespoon lemon verbena leaves

1 ounce seltzer water

1 teaspoon sugar in the raw

1 /2 cup Cava

Place all ingredients in a mixer glass and muddle leaves for about a minute.  Fill glass with ice and cover and shake vigorously.  Strain into a lowball glass filled with ice and add Cava. Garnish with a basil and verbena leaf.

Blackberry Mango Mint Cava Granita

Not quite a cocktail but still makes the cut on our list of spectacular summer herb & sparkling wine recipes and we just simply couldn’t leave it out!

Makes 3 cups

1 ripe mango peeled, pitted and cubed

½ cup sugar in the raw

1 cup Cava

½ cup fresh mint

1 cup blackberries

In a blender or food processor mix mango, sugar and cava until pureed smooth.  Pour into a metal baking pan (shallow) and freeze, scarping with a fork every 10 minutes.  Scrape with fork to serve with fresh blackberries on top and garnish with mint leaf.

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As usual, we recommend supporting sustainable, biodynamic, organic agriculture in general and certainly also in wines & even bubbly!  Although Cava and Prosecco are certainly easy to find, Italy and Spain's biodynamic sustainable movement in bubblies is still relatively new.  Here are our two favorites easy to find in the states and reasonably prices………..and of course excellent quality!!

Organic & Biodynamic Cava :  Marques de Gelida  Retails for approx $16.99

Organic & Biodynamic Prosecco: Bisson Prosecco dei Colli Trevigiani. Retails for about $15.95

You can find both of these wines on EatingVine.  If you want to know more about me or cooking with herbs please checkout my website: http://ger-nis.com/

-Nissa Pierson

Nissa Pierson is the founder of Ger-Nis Culinary and Herb Center.  She is an expert on herbs and a supporter of sustainable living and fair trade.  She studied Sustainable Economic & Environmental Development at Gustavus Adolphus College and was also awarded a Master Organic Gardening Certificate after studying Urban Farming at the University of Oregon.  Currently, Nissa lives and works in Brooklyn importing herbs for Ger-Nis and also runs Ger-Nis Culinary and Herb Center which offers classes to children and adults with the focus on cooking with herbs.