Tinto de Verano

The most commonly used soda in Spain for a Tinto de Verano is very light on sugar. If the soda available to you is too sweet for this drink, consider splitting it with club soda. Alternatively, you could instead mix the wine with club soda and lemonade, or lemon juice.

While lime-lemon soda is what’s traditionally used, other types, such as grapefruit soda, will also work well.

In Spain, you can ask for the wine and the soda to be brought to you separately, in case you want to alter the traditional ratio of 1:1 to something that fits your palate.

Other variations of Tinto de Verano include replacing the wine with hard cider (in Asturias) or with Cava (in Cataluña).

Similarly the Calimocho or Kalimotxo involves mixing wine with Coca-Cola.

Tinto de Verano is translated to “Summer wine” or “Red Summer Wine”. Tinto referring to red wine, and verano being the Spanish word for summer. The name is a reference to the ingredients as well as the time of the year when the cocktail is most often enjoyed.

In Spain, Tinto de Verano is just as popular (or even more so) than Sangría, since it’s a lot easier to make.

The most widely known story behind the origin of Tinto de Verano says that it was created in a roadside bar in Córdoba, Spain, some time in the early 19th Century. The drink was often referred to as a “Vargas” following the name of the establishment where it originated: “La Venta de Vargas”.