Wine-Style Grape & Mint
A drink built to do a red wine's work beside a rich, cheesy plate: fruity, cold, faintly tannic and tart. Concord grape juice gives the body and the deep colour, a long cold mint infusion the lift, a cold-brew black tea the grippy tannin that keeps it from tasting like plain juice, and a squeeze of lemon the edge. All chilled and poured, wine glass and all. It is how you keep the ritual of pairing a good glass with dinner while leaving the alcohol out.
Method
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The chemistry
SKELETAL STRUCTURES5 compounds carry this recipe. Here is what each one does and, where we have it, what it actually looks like.
Grapes' (and wine's) signature acid; it gives the pour a genuinely vinous backbone instead of a soft, juicy one.
The deep purple pigments of concord grapes lend the true wine-red colour and a dark, berry-like fruitiness.
Drawn out slowly by the cold mint infusion; it trips the tongue's cold receptors and gives the drink its refreshing, almost sparkling lift.
A flavan-3-ol from cold-brewed black tea and grape skins, the astringent tannin that dries the finish and makes this read as wine, not juice.
A squeeze of lemon sharpens the whole thing, keeping the fruit fresh against the tannin.
On the table together
THE INDEX, LINKEDThis recipe is part of a set: follow the thread through the blends it uses and what it's served with.