Today is the unofficial last day of summer. It’s also my birthday, so there are several reasons to kick back and enjoy a tinto de verano, the wine of summer.
About halfway across Spain, Eric’s body mysteriously (and, it seems, permanently) decided to not like beer anymore. (No, it’s not a gluten thing.) But it was 90 degrees in the shade, and we were walking long(ish) days, so he needed something cold and refreshing to pick him up in the afternoon.
Something easy to sip, without the higher alcohol content of wine…
Enter tinto de verano, which is essentially red wine, ice, and a lemon-lime soda of some kind. A Spanish spritzer.
(Chowhound went to the trouble of posting a recipe, but really, all you have to do is mix equal parts bubbly soda and bold wine, and a lemon slice if you’re feeling fancy. San Pellegrino and Malbec are the preferred combination here.)
There was often a comical moment when a waiter would bring us the beer and drink we’d ordered, and would try to give Eric the beer and me the “girly drink.” (Just because his stomach turned against him didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy a cerveza now and then…) It was good for a laugh, and also a new tag:
Tinto de verano: bebida para hombres!
Here’s to the end of summer.
So, fellow Camino pilgrims, what was your after-walking drink of choice?
camino times two 
I loved the tinto de verano!! (and Happy Birthday!) 🙂
LikeLike
¡Feliz cumpleaños!
I like tinto, but I rarely drink it…kalimotxo is so much better 🙂 I’ll do wine/gaseosa with lunch, or Aquarius Naranja or water if i’m super dehydrated, which happened a lot.
LikeLike