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Red Wine Spritzer is my go to sip when I want something light, bubbly, and refreshing without any fuss, just red wine, a splash of club soda, and a bright orange slice. I started making these on hot summer evenings out on the back porch, and now it is our favorite easy way to stretch a bottle of red, especially next to a pitcher of our large batch mojitos at a party.
This easy red wine spritzer comes together in about a minute and tastes like a little vacation in a glass.
Red Wine Spritzer Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 0 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 5 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 1 spritzer
- ⚡ Calories: 84kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Light, bubbly, and fruity with a crisp citrus finish
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our white wine spritzer
Quick Answer
Fill a wine glass halfway with ice, pour in about 3 and a half ounces of red wine, then top it off with 2 and a half ounces of club soda. Give it a gentle stir and garnish with a fresh orange slice. It is light, bubbly, and ready in under a minute.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Club soda lightens the wine. Topping the red wine with club soda cuts the richness and adds gentle bubbles, so the drink is crisp and refreshing instead of heavy.
- Ice keeps it cold and easy to sip. A glass full of ice chills the spritzer fast and keeps it crushable on a warm day without watering it down too quickly.
- An orange slice brightens every sip. The citrus garnish adds a fresh aroma and a hint of sweetness that plays beautifully with a fruity red wine.
- The ratio is forgiving. Roughly three parts wine to two parts soda is a great starting point, but you can adjust it to taste with no recipe stress.
- It stretches a bottle. Adding soda means one bottle of wine makes more drinks, which is perfect for parties and easy porch sipping.
- No special equipment needed. There is no shaker, muddler, or blender required, just a glass, ice, and a spoon. That makes this the easiest cocktail to throw together for one person or for a whole crowd.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It comes together in under a minute with just a few simple ingredients.
- It is lower in alcohol and calories than a straight glass of wine, so it is easy to sip all evening.
- It is endlessly customizable and perfect for a crowd, much like our white wine spritzer.
Key Ingredients
You only need a few simple things to build this refreshing spritzer. Here is what each one does.
- Red Wine: Use a fruity, medium bodied red you enjoy drinking. There is no need for an expensive bottle here.
- Club Soda: Adds the bubbles and lightens the wine. Sparkling water or lemon lime soda work too for a sweeter version.
- Ice: Keeps the spritzer cold and crisp. Use plenty so it stays refreshing to the last sip.
- Orange Slice: The classic garnish that adds fresh citrus aroma. Lemon, lime, or berries are great too.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make this spritzer your own with these easy twists.
- Sweeter version: Swap the club soda for lemon lime soda or ginger ale.
- Berry spritzer: Muddle a few raspberries or drop in frozen berries.
- Citrus swap: Garnish with lemon, lime, or grapefruit instead of orange.
- Make a pitcher: Scale it up and stir together a big batch for a crowd.
- Try white wine: Use the same easy method with white for our white wine spritzer.
How to Make Red Wine Spritzer
- Fill a wine glass halfway with ice, then pour in the red wine.
- Top the glass off with club soda and gently stir.
- Garnish with a fresh orange slice and serve right away.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Chill the wine and soda first so the ice lasts longer and the drink stays crisp.
- Use a fruity red like a Lambrusco, Grenache, or young Zinfandel for the best flavor.
- Add the soda last and pour gently to keep all those refreshing bubbles.
- Adjust to taste, more soda for a lighter drink, more wine for a bolder one.
- Garnish generously, a slice of orange and a few berries make it feel special.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
A red wine spritzer is the ultimate easy entertaining drink. Serve it at brunch, on the porch, or at a backyard cookout next to a pitcher of our large batch mojitos so guests have options.
It pairs beautifully with snacks and appetizers. Set it out with a cheese board, our firecracker chex mix, or fresh fruit for a relaxed happy hour spread.
For a full drinks menu, offer both red and our white wine spritzer plus a non alcoholic option. They are all light, bubbly, and perfect for warm weather sipping.
These spritzers are also wonderful for hands off entertaining. Set up a simple drink station with a chilled bottle of red, a bottle of club soda, a bucket of ice, and a bowl of fresh orange slices, then let guests build their own. It keeps you out of the kitchen and lets everyone mix their drink exactly how they like it, strong or light, sweet or dry.
Red Wine Spritzer FAQs
A fruity, medium bodied red works best for a Red Wine Spritzer. Lambrusco, Grenache, young Zinfandel, or a chilled Pinot Noir all make a refreshing spritzer. Skip heavy, tannic, oaky reds, which can taste bitter with soda.
A good starting ratio is about 3 parts red wine to 2 parts club soda, which is roughly 3 and a half ounces of wine to 2 and a half ounces of soda. Adjust to taste with more soda for a lighter drink.
Yes. Because club soda adds zero calorie bubbles and stretches the wine, a Red Wine Spritzer has fewer calories and less alcohol per glass than a straight pour of wine, coming in around 84 calories.
Absolutely. Multiply the wine and soda, stir together in a pitcher with ice and orange slices just before serving, and add the soda last so it stays bubbly. It is perfect for parties.
Sparkling water keeps it dry, while lemon lime soda, ginger ale, or even a splash of lemonade make a sweeter, fizzier spritzer. Tonic water adds a slightly bitter edge, and flavored sparkling waters like blood orange or berry are delicious too. Any bubbly mixer works, so use what you like best.
Yes, a Red Wine Spritzer is best served cold over plenty of ice. The ice keeps it crisp and refreshing, which is the whole point of a spritzer on a warm day.
Prefer something lighter? Mix up our crisp white wine spritzer next.
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Easy Red Wine Spritzer Recipe
Ingredients
- Ice
- 3 1/2 ounces red wine
- 2 1/2 ounces club soda
- Orange slice for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a wine glass halfway full of ice.Ice
- Pour wine into the glass and top with club soda.3 1/2 ounces red wine, 2 1/2 ounces club soda
- Garnish with an orange slice.Orange slice
Notes
- You can make this in a large batch by combining a 750ml bottle of wine and 1 liter of club soda in a pitcher and serving over ice.
- Choose your favorite red wine.
- You can also use regular or flavored seltzer or sparkling water.
- These can be garnished or ungarnished, that is up to you, we like to garnish just for the looks!
Nutrition
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