Wine Cocktails: 50 Stylish Sippers That Show Off Your Reds, Whites, and Roses

Since A.J. Rathbun's book Good Spirits: Recipes, Revelations, Refreshments, and Romance, Shaken and Served with a Twist pretty much revolutionized my home entertaining life, I was eager to pick up his latest offering, Wine Cocktails. I mixed up a batch of Cactus Berry (a refreshing twist on a margarita made with Merlot) for some skeptical friends and everyone loved it! Then we tried the Maibowle (strawberries, white wine, and vodka) and the pals were completely won over. Using wine to mix cocktails makes for lighter, refreshing drinks. And, frankly, it helps the budget, too--that $10 bottle of wine extends the useful life of the $25 bottle of vodka! I'll be using this book all through the summer (and probably right into the fall and winter, too!).

I'm not a huge wine drinker. Okay, not even a sometimes wine drinker. I'll have a sangria once in awhile, but never order wine with my dinner or when at a bar. What this means when I'm invited over for wine with friends, is usually beating a path directly to their liquor cabinet. Finally, this book (which all of my friends are getting copies of) lets me appreciate wine, with the extra punch of juice/soda/liqueur I require in order to find it tasty. The recipes are so good here, that there really doesn't seem to be a good enough reason to drink wine on its own anymore anyway. And honestly, who can resist drinks with names like the Italian Adonis, Monks Converge, Magic Man, and Witch in White?

I've only recently gotten into A.J Rathbun's cocktail and drinks books - this one only furthers my trust in him. Great recipes - something I have never done with wine. I'm really excited to experiment and this book makes it easy to do so. Great photos and more lively than some of my other drink books.

Who knew that so much could be done with wine? I though cocktails had to have a boozy base, but Rathbun shows how much more can be created with the overlooked bottle. Never much of a wine drinker, I am newly interested in this side of entertaining. I'm certainly never going to order a wine cocktail out on the town, but at home it ought to be the onrushing wave. Great pictures, too, like all of Rathbun's books.

I picked up a copy at a local bookstore. The recipes inside are really great. Some traditional ones that I've heard of before, but many others that I haven't. Delicious, great if you like wine, but are looking for new ways to explore flavors. I'm looking forward to using these at summer cocktail parties. And the photos are fabulous!