Summer Delight: Fresita Sparkling Wine with Strawberries

Well folks, I might just have found my holy grail of summer drinking; Fresita Sparkling Wine with Strawberries. I'm not sure how I've not stumbled across this before, and as usual, I'm probably well behind on this trend!

With a Chilean sparkling wine base and an infusion of Patagonian strawberries it ticks all the boxes for uniqueness, and makes for a sensational aperitif, picnic wine or dessert fizz. As long as you serve it chilled, it's difficult not to enjoy.

Whilst I am yet to try it made into a cocktail of some sort as recommended on the Fresita website, I can confirm that on its own, chilled, its delicious and I am willing the sun to stay out a little longer in order to gain maximum enjoyment from my new find.

Production begins with a Chilean base wine of Chardonnay, Muscat and Sauvignon Blanc which undergoes a natural second fermentation to produce a brut sparkling wine, then a natural strawberry pulp (from Patagonian strawberries) is added during bottling. Naturally produced with a low abv of just 8% and with no added sugar, Fresita is perfect for summer-time drinking outside in the sunshine - preferably with a picnic spread.

With fresh strawberry aromas (as you'd expect) and a hint of refreshing citrus, it's a delight even before you taste it. As far as sparkling wines go, the bubbles are pretty fine and it feels quite elegant - not sure if this is what I had predicted from the packaging. Lots of strawberry fruit flavour (again, as you'd expect) and a little tart redcurrant acidity make it taste utterly delicious.

It's new to the wine range in Tesco - probably why I've only just discovered it - so you'll see it on their shelves as of this week. With it's vibrant red packaging it's easy to spot amongst the traditional dark green of Champagne and sparkling wine bottles. At £7.99 per bottle in-store in Tesco and online at Wine by the Case, it's not super-cheap given it's only made from a wine base, but for an occasion it's worth the extra pennies over a cheap Cava or Prosecco and it'll be a good talking point amongst friends.

Though the World Cup has now ended (yay!) we're all still struck with a little bit of Brazilian fever, so if today's weather continues through the weekend, I'm thinking I'll shake up a Caipirina Fresita as suggested on the Fresita site. A blend of Cachaca (or sub for rum), Fresita, fresh strawberries and ice - surely a summer delight.