One of my favorite offerings at the Swedish midsummer festival is the delicious, refreshing and affecting strawberry wine punch served at Gigino. But because of our lamentably retro liquor laws, it can only be enjoyed on the restaurant patio, not in the park, even though the two are part of the same property.
This year I took matters into my own hands and made my own strawberry white wine punch, based on this recipe from Epicurious, to serve at a picnic in the park. I tweaked it by adding sparkling white wine and an interesting liqueur I had lying around the house, Marie-Framboise raspberry cognac. You can buy it online or substitute kirsch, another Scandinavian staple. Adding flavored cognac or brandy nudges the drink closer to sangria, but it still tastes predominantly of berries. There is no need to use expensive wine or champagne, since you’re just adding sugar to it. Put it in an unmarked container, serve in opaque cups, and if anyone asks, it’s lemonade with strawberries in it.
Recipe: Strawberry White Wine Punch
1 lb. (about 1 quart) fresh strawberries
1/2 c. sugar
1 bottle white wine
1/2 c. Marie-Framboise cognac or kirsch
1 bottle sparkling white wine
Hull and thinly slice the strawberries. Put them in a large pitcher and mix in the sugar. Macerate the strawberries at room temperature for 15 minutes. Mix in the white wine and cognac and refrigerate for 4 hours.
When ready to serve, stir the punch thoroughly to dissolve any remaining sugar and add the chilled sparkling white wine.
Serves 6
