Top 12 Red Wine Cocktails to Try

Perhaps the most famous red wine cocktail of all, Red Sangria is a red wine and fruit punch that dates back to the Middle Ages. It remains the most popular drink in Spain. This classic recipe makes a pitcher out of a bottle of red wine, brandy, and orange juice. Whole pieces of citrus and apples infuse fresh fruit flavor.

Mulled wine is essentially a wintertime sangria. It is a red wine and brandy infusion, using a customizable list of your favorite baking spices and citrus fruits. This recipe calls for cloves, cinnamon, and star anise to simmer for hours. The longer you simmer this liquid, the richer the mulled wine will taste. 

A sour of any kind is a tasty blend of sweet and tart mixers with a spirit of your choice. This New York Sour is a bourbon sour with a splash of red wine. The unique use of red wine is more for presentation as you pour a dash of red wine over a bar spoon over the top of the bourbon, lemon, and simple syrup mix to create a blood-red top layer.

Named for its menacing blood-red appearance, the Devil’s Margarita is a classier version of the sangria margarita. It stays true to the original recipe for a margarita, using Blanco tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup. Instead of triple sec, this margarita gets a hearty pour of red wine. A full-bodied wine works well with the harsh alcohol-forward white tequila. 

If you’ve ever been to Spain, you’ve surely delighted in a Kalimotxo, pronounced: “Calimocho.” It became a staple of Spanish drinking culture in the 1970s, around the time Coca-Cola became popular in Spain. It’s a simple blend of coke and dry red wine. It might sound strange to foreigners, but one sip of this rich two-ingredient cocktail will have you hooked.

A marriage of Spanish and Mexican cocktails, the Sangria Margarita is both festive and elegant. It is an elaborate cocktail that is as beautiful to look at as it is to taste. The margarita blends sour mix, tequila, and orange juice in a cocktail shaker. Red wine tops the margarita, creating a stunning two-tone cocktail that you load with fresh fruit garnish.

If you’re looking for the easiest cocktail to whip up on a moment’s notice, this red wine spritzer is just two ingredients. All you need is a bottle of red wine and a liter of sprite, and voila, cocktails are served for an impromptu summer happy hour. 

This delicious and simple red wine fizz is the perfect fall cocktail. It combines red wine with orange liqueur and ginger ale for a wonderful trifecta of citrus, spice, and tannins. This recipe makes four cocktails, perfect for get-togethers. It’s a simple pitcher filled with three ingredients that you stir to blend.

This elegant red wine spritzer is a bright and cheerful cocktail for a summer dinner party. It makes enough for a small group, using fresh raspberries mudded in individual glasses. Red wine and limoncello-flavored seltzer water blend with the raspberries, creating a crimson hue and a fruity, tart flavor palate.