More than 20 Texas Tech University students are creating concoctions using wine, each hoping to take home the first best wine cocktail title against Sonoma State University.
A press release announced Tech students from Natalia Velikova’s wine marketing class will be experimenting with cocktail recipes made with wine instead of liquor and entering the best concoctions in the contest again Sonoma State.
Velikova, associate director of the Texas Wine Marketing Institute, said she and Sonoma State professor Liz Thach came up with the idea of the contest while sitting next to each other at the Wine Financial Symposium in September.
“We were listening to speakers describing how craft beer, hard cider and mixed drinks create serious competition to wine by gaining market share rapidly,” she said. “It occurred to us that people don’t usually think of wine being a cocktail ingredient, but there are many interesting wine cocktails out there, and it would be a good idea to bring consumer’s attention to wine cocktails.”
According to the release, students will submit recipes, creative names, pictures and videos of themselves creating their mixture. Their cocktails will be presented during the first week of April, and each class will vote on its top three. The chosen cocktails will be judged by a panel of experts, which will include a master sommelier from both Texas and California. The results will be released later in April, and the recipes will be featured on the new Wine Mixology Blog.
Velikova said her students will not be traveling to California, but they are extremely excited about the competition.
“There are some really competitive students in class,” she said, “and they are determined to win!”
Justine St. Cyr, a student in Velikova’s class, said she and her partner discussed a chocolate winetini and a cherry wine Dr Pepper before landing on their cocktail of choice: a combination of peach, ice wine and whiskey that is much like the experience of honey whiskey.
“I have been ecstatic about the project since I heard about it,” St. Cyr said in the release. “I really enjoy wine, so helping it make a comeback in the form of cocktails is definitely something I can get behind.”
Velikova said this project is also important for the Texas wine industry.
“Compared to the well-developed California wine industry, Texas is still considered an emerging wine region,” she said. “Nevertheless, the Texas wine industry experiences an unprecedented rapid growth, and this project may also bring more attention to the industry.”
Cocktail Recipes
News of the upcoming wine cocktail competition has made me a little thirsty. Here are some great cocktail recipes you can try at home!
St. Germain Cocktail
This cocktail is refreshing and simple. Combine champagne, St. Germain elderflower liquor and club soda. Then garnish the mixture with a lemon twist.
Photo and recipe from St. Germain.
White Russian
This sweet, creamy drink was made famous by The Dude in “The Big Lebowski” and is also fairly simple to mix up. Combine vodka and Godiva Mocha liqueur (or any kind of coffee or chocolate liqueur) with heavy cream, and it tastes like the perfect adult chocolate milk.
Photo and recipe from The Bar.
Pomegranate Martini
This comso-style martini combines citron vodka, orange liqueur, pomegranate juice, and a dash of lemon juice for a deliciously fruity but strong concoction.
Photo and recipe from All Recipes.
About Nicole Crites
