Oh, wine slushies. Back when I first downloaded Instagram, one of the first photos I snapped was of my then-boyfriend drinking a wine slushy at the California state fair. I had never heard of the glorious thing that is called ‘wine slushy,’ and so I stood in line over and over again to try all of the flavors. It was so quintessential California, and so perfect on that hot day. Why it’s taken me years to post a recipe for the delicious creation is something I wasn’t prepared to speak of today. Life gets in the way, wine gets drunk straight from the bottle, and wine slushies became a fond memory. Finally, I got to the point where I just needed one in my hand, dammit! My favorite flavor by far that day was mixed berry with pink Zinfandel.
Don’t miss the video above making this recipe! Now, here’s the thing: I’m a proud red wine drinker. The darker, the better. Much like my taste in men, the thicker, the more complex, the richer, the happier I am. To buy a bottle of pink Zin for this recipe was slightly torturous. I could feel the guy at the wine store resisting to make a better suggestion. I know he looked at me and thought ‘yeah, she drinks that.’ No offense to you pink Zin lovers—I have a friend who drinks it exclusively with gobs of ice cubes, and I love her guts. But, I’m proud of my purple stained teeth. I persisted for you. Your life needs wine slushies. Your summer needs it, too. Why a home version of a slushy machine has yet to be invented is eluding me. So, to mimic the wonderful attributes of a slushy machine, we will use the granita scrape-and-freeze method: After pureeing and straining the mixture, pour it into a shallow baking dish (like a 9" pie plate), and freeze for 2 hours. Scrape the mixture every 30 minutes with a fork to break up the ice crystals. Easy peasy! One bottle of pink Zinfandel plus 1 cup of mixed frozen berries will make 4 wine slushies. Feel free to double or triple the recipe, stand around on the deck, and enjoy the hot summer sun with a wine slushy in your hand. Bonus points for stripey straws! Were you hoping to see the vintage insta-shot of wine slushy? I found it, circa 2011:
