Seltzer seems to be this summer’s new tipple – a bit like Prosecco or Rosé in the last couple of years. I’ve seen heaps of varieties in the stores (and tried a couple of them). It’s made by co-fermenting fruit and wine, then adding sparkling water – the tropical one has a pineapple flavour to it. I tried it twice – once at a friend’s house as a direct replacement to a (first) glass of wine; then again after a gardening session in the summer heat, when I just felt like a cold refreshing drink. For me it works better in the latter situation.
As a wine lover, this just doesn’t cut the mustard as a substitute – it’s fairly low in flavour and left me disappointed compared to the sheer level of taste I expect from a glass of wine. However, as a stand alone drink in the other situation it worked very well indeed. I dressed it up with a spring of mint and a fistful of ice, and it’s a super-refreshing, light, not-sweet glassful. Has a slightly saline tang, and is obviously pineapple-tropical fruit flavoured without being brash like a conventional can of soda.
