Fall Mocktail: Giostra d'Alcool with Red Wine & Campari dupe
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What can you do with a leftover bottle of non-alcoholic red wine? Make a cocktail or mocktail with it before it goes bad! (side note that I still hate the word mocktail, and prefer to call these non-alcoholic cocktails…)
Giostra d’alcol translated into Italian means literally a carousel of alcohol. So, is this one of those drinks that is too boozy to make into a mocktail? I don’t think so but in order to do that, you’ll have to use really incredible dupes of the real thing to make this recipe taste as elevated as possible.
The basic ingredients for a Giostra d’Alcol are Campari, Italian red wine and a lemonade soda called Cedrata. Let’s break down what to replace each of these with, plus a little addition of my own.
Red Wine Alternative
Of course an Italian cocktail would use Italian wine, but in this case, there are practically zero options for non-alcoholic wine made in Italy. This is entirely due to the regulations and lobbying from the alcohol industry to prevent non-alcoholic wine being made by Italian vineyards. Well, their loss! The best non-alcoholic red wine in the world is called Zeronimo Leonis Blend from Austria. It uses a blend of Blaufrankish, Zweigelt and Pinot Noir, and and tastes exactly like a real wine including dry tannins and structure. It’s a perfect option for this cocktail.
Campari Alternative
The nicest option I’ve come across lately is the Free Spirits Aperitivo Milano - the new formulation. They’ve really done a great job of recreating the herbal notes and bitter orange peel flavour of Campari and it does actually taste a little bit boozy. Where this really wins is that it’s not ‘hit you over the head’ bitter like Wilderton. It’s just perfect!
Cedrata
If you’re a purest you could find an Italian grocery store and track down Cedrata or order it online, but honestly, Trader Jo’s and Whole Foods both carry Italian lemonade - sometimes called Sicilian lemonade or just sparkling lemonade is fine. I tried a ‘diet’ version and it wasn’t as good so just bite the bullet and use the sweetened version. It’s only 2-3 oz.
Orange Juice
This is not in the traditional recipe, but I added 1/2 oz to give the cocktail some sweetness. Fresh is best - and cheaper to buy one orange than an entire container of OJ from concentrate.
Preparation Notes
This is one of those rare drinks that doesn’t need shaking and tastes really excellent just stirred. Shaking this up would ruin the wine anyway, and it’s supposed to be a spritzer as well. Because the ingredients aren’t chilled, I would stir this in a mixing glass with large ice chunks to chill the liquid, and strain into a fresh glass with ice to keep it chilled.
Glassware
The Giostra d’Alcool as far as I can tell is kind of a “use up what’s left” kind of cocktail, meant to be for casual drinks. I used a CB2 rocks glass which I love, but you can use any old shorter tumbler.
Garnish & Ice
I usually use as large an ice cube as I can in mocktails to prevent dilution, and to keep ingredients chilled. In this cocktail, I love using a big large square ice cube because it’s aesthetic AND functional! You don’t have to garnish with a dried orange slice unless you have them on hand. You could actually use a fresh orange slice for garnish and I think it would add to the flavour of the mocktail.
Ingredients
1/2 oz fresh sqeezed orange juice
2 oz Free Spirits Aperitivo Milano
2 oz Zeronimo Leonis Blend
2-3 oz Sicilian lemonade
Orange slice for garnish
Preparation
Stir the first three ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill
Strain into a fresh glass with a large cube of ice
Top with the lemonade
Garnish with an orange slice
Fall Mocktail: Giostra d'Alcol
This easy fall mocktail will help you use up your leftover wine, paired perfectly with an herbal and juicy aperitif.
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz fresh sqeezed orange juice
- 2 oz Free Spirits Aperitivo Milano
- 2 oz Zeronimo Leonis Blend
- 2-3 oz Sicilian lemonade
- Orange slice for garnish
Instructions
- Stir the first three ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill
- Strain into a fresh glass with a large cube of ice
- Top with the lemonade
- Garnish with an orange slice
