‘Refresh’ Wines By Turning Leaf
Looking for a great wine for celebrating summer and even for your 4th of July and other summer parties?
Skimbaco Lifestyle recommends checking out
Turning Leaf’s new wine collection called “Refresh,” which comes in three varietals including Crisp White, Moscato and Red Moscato.
We especially recommend the Crisp White for hot summer nights and fun BBQ parties – or romantic wine tasting nights with your spouse.
Refresh is literally a refreshed take on wine, Refresh is crafted to offer a refreshing wine experience and it has nice amount of fizz and it is also a great wine mixer. Yes, you read it correctly – Refresh is great for mixed cocktails, sangria, punch and other mixed wine drinks. In addition to pouring a glass on its own, Turning Leaf’s winemaker also recommends enjoying it on ice garnished with an orange or lime wedge, or even as the base of a cooling wine cocktail. Its screw top enclosure helps maintain the delightful fizz and makes enjoying Refresh as approachable as its flavors.
Turning Leaf wanted to send me a few bottles of this goodness to taste, and I thought who would be better to judge wine than my beloved in-laws. My father-in-law Danny Presnal used to work for the Texas Department of Agriculture, and had to know everything there is to know about Texas wine for his job, and he even knows about having your own winery and making wine – yes, in the heartlands of Texas! I know Danny’s wine palette is more sophisticated than mine, and he is the master of picking great new wines. It was self-evident that the best people to send a few “test bottles” of Turning Leaf was to my in-laws in Texas.
Read Danny and Donna’s wine tasting notes and cocktail suggestions – and I think the #4 tells you how much time wine was enjoyed (literally) and that it’s a great pick for any summer celebrations, small or big. I also love the tasting notes on #3 and how Danny created the cocktail, and I just love the thought of thinking how my in-laws enjoyed this bottle of wine together, and my father-in-law wanted the moment (and the wine) to last for longer. So romantic, yet so practical, and he ended up creating the best summer cocktail – gotta love every bit of it!
Refresh Crisp White by Turning Leaf tasting notes & cocktail suggestion
“Refresh” By Turning Leaf
Crisp White
Light & Refreshing Style
2010 California
1. Straight, nothing added, over ice.
It is a light, crisp wine (nothing complex) with a slight ‘fizz’ (not as intense fizz as Champagne, but noticeable) that would be a good summertime on the patio type wine.
2. Over ice with a slice of lime (squeezed)
You could also add a slice of orange or other fruit. This enhanced the fruitiness of the wine and the lime made it more refreshing.
3. Over ice, with the lime and mixed it with ginger ale (2/3 wine, 1/3 ginger ale)
The third way we tried it was just something I thought about (actually the bottle was about empty and I thought this might be nice, and, it would get us two more glasses out of the bottle)… we tried it over ice, with the lime, AND, mixed it with ginger ale. This was actually the most refreshing way as the ginger ale added even more ‘fizz’. You could experiment with other ‘mixers’ as well (Sprite, 7Up, cranapple, crangrape, whatever).
4. Screw top is a nice feature
Although we didn’t have to make use of it (we drank the whole bottle in one sitting), the screw top cap is a nice feature (although I would usually shy away from screw tops). I would describe it as a fun wine, not complex and would go with food at a backyard party/BBQ. I don’t know what the normal retail price is, but I would expect to pay around $4-6.00 for this in the grocery store*.
*
The Turning Leaf Refresh wines are $8 per bottle, but if you take Danny’s tip and make it last for longer with ginger ale or other mixer, you have yourself a very inexpensive summer drink that tastes refreshing.
Enjoy responsibly and with people you love!
Ps. The wine glass pictured is my favorite new everyday glass:
Iittala Lempi Glass – it’s a bit like the Refresh wines – great for multi-purpose, for enjoy wine, cocktails or even milk, from everyday to parties.
Disclosure: Turning Leaf sent us some wine, but we’ve been lovers of wine for centuries, or since legal drinking age, and our opinions are our own.
