Last summer, while we were enjoying chilled glasses of crisp sauvignon blanc, a craze swept across the summer drinks scene: frozen rosé, most often called by its catchy moniker, frosé. It turns out that frosé was not a flash in the pan and is spurring even more creativity this year. During a heat wave a few weeks ago we decided to try it. And we liked it.

Recipes for frosé abound (just Google “frozen rosé drink”). Some use a blender, others an ice cream freezer, and our favorite: a plastic bag. Ingredients vary, too.  Food 52 has this genius method for making frosé at the beach. There are recipes that are nothing but rosé wine. Most, though, include a fruit, some sugar, and a splash of lemon. We found frosés made with strawberries and with watermelon, although we’re fairly certain we’re just at the dawn of the frosé revolution. All agree that a fruity (not sweet), full-bodied rosé is mandatory. The cold will kill all flavor of a lighter, more delicate rosé.

There is a world of rosés out there, ranging from sweet blushes to crisp, dry, light reds, with new varieties arriving every day. If you would like to learn more, we recommend two new books that are among the first to explore these friendly wines: Rosé Wine: The Guide to Drinking Pink by Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan and Rosé All Day: The Essential Guide to Your New Favorite Wine by Katherine Cole.

We made our frosé with strawberries since they were in season at the time, but reduced the sugar to ¼ cup. And we used the simplest method—the plastic bag. Our verdict: quite pleasant. Not as sweet as the ingredients would suggest, rather flavorful and refreshing.

Ingredients

One 750 ml bottle full-bodied rose wine, chilled
2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved, plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
One gallon-size Ziploc bag

Preparation

1. Put the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour the bottle of rosé wine and the strawberry mixture into a gallon Ziploc bag, set the bag inside a dish (in case of leaks,) and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. When ready to serve, remove the bag of frozen rosé from the freezer and break up the contents. Put the frozen wine pieces in a blender and blend until you have a slushy drink.
4. Pour into wine glasses and chill.