Basic Wine Sorbet Recipes

PEAR AND RED WINE SORBET

Steps:

• Peel, core and quarter the pears. Place them in a medium saucepan with the sugar, red wine, water, cinnamon stick and vanilla extract. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the pears are soft and translucent. This will take 15 to 20 minutes if the pears are ripe and soft to begin with, or about 30 minutes if they're somewhat hard. Add the pepper.
• Using tongs, remove the pears to a bowl. Remove the cinnamon stick from the poaching liquid, and discard. Turn up the heat, and reduce until the mixture has the consistency of a thin syrup. (This step may be unnecessary, depending on how long you cooked the pears and how juicy they were.)
• Place the pears, in batches, in a blender, or place all of them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Purée until smooth. Slowly add the poaching liquid and the lemon juice, and blend together. Transfer to a bowl, and chill. Meanwhile, place a 1-quart container in the freezer.
• Freeze in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to the chilled container, and freeze for at least two hours before serving. If frozen solid, allow to soften in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes.

RED WINE-RASPBERRY SORBET

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, water, and red wine to a boil and let boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the raspberries. Cover and let steep for 1 hour.
• To purée the berries and remove the seeds, using a rubber spatula, press the mixture through a mesh strainer set over a medium bowl or pass it through a food mill fitted with a fine disk into a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Variation:
• For a lighter-tasting sorbet, use rosé in place of the red wine.

FRUIT & WINE SORBET RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the simple syrup by dissolving one cup of sugar into one cup (240 ml) of water.
• Blend strawberries, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, mango, wine, and simple syrup until well combined (you may have to do this in two batches).
• Pour mixture into a 9×9 inch (23x23 cm) glass pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight.
• Scoop and serve with fresh strawberry (optional).
• Enjoy!

SORBETE DE LA RIOJA (LA RIOJA WINE SORBET)

Steps:

• Put the sugar in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick and a scant cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar has dissolved completely and the syrup is clear. Remove the cinnamon stick and let the syrup cool. Mix together the sugar syrup, red wine and orange zest. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form, and then fold into the red wine mixture. Transfer the mixture to a metal bowl and place in the freezer for 3 hours. Break up the ice crystals occasionally by whisking with a balloon whisk. Before serving, the sorbet should be whisked again, then divided between chilled glassed. Decorate with mint leaves.
• Variation: The sorbet can also be served in tall glasses, which are then topped up with chilled Spanish sparkling wine (Cava).

WINE GRAPE SORBET

Steps:

• Put the stemmed grapes in a large saucepan with the water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the grapes are juicy and softened.
• Remove the seeds and skins by passing the grapes through a food mill fitted with a fine disk or by pressing them through a mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Whisk the sugar and corn syrup or agave nectar into the still-warm grape juice until dissolved. (If the grape juice has cooled, rewarm it gently in a saucepan over low heat.) Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Because grapes have a lot of water, sorbet made from them tends to freeze very firmly. The sorbet is best eaten shortly after it's made; otherwise, be sure to remove it from the freezer before serving to allow it to soften.
• A pour of Champagne or other sparkling wine over each serving of sorbet is a nice touch. If you used Concord grapes, a spoonful of whipped cream (page 239) provides creamy contrast.
• If you don't have an ice cream machine, you can make GRAPE GRANITA. Pour the mixture into a shallow plastic container and place it in the freezer. Check periodically, and as the mixture freezes over the course of a few hours, stir and rake the mixture with a fork several times to create grainy crystals.
• Instead of using fresh grapes, you can use 3 cups (750 ml) good-quality unsweetened grape juice. Warm 1 cup (250 ml) of it with the sugar and corn syrup or agave nectar until the sugar dissolves, then mix in the remaining grape juice.
• Grapes can be stemmed quickly in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook: Put the grapes in the bowl and run the mixer on the lowest speed. The hook will pull the grapes off the stems and crush them so they cook quicker; the stems will rise to the top and can be easily removed and discarded.