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What is Tinto de Verano?
Tinto de Verano made of equal parts table red wine and soda, often a semi-sweet lemon flavored variety. The traditional soda brand, Sandevid, is very lightly sweetened which results in the combined beverage being relatively low calorie. It is often served over ice with a slice or lemon or orange as a garnish. A 1.5L bottle of Tinto De Verano can be found at most grocery stores in Spain for less than two euros. I drank a full bottle in one afternoon and felt neither tipsy nor over-sugared.
The invention of the drink is commonly credited to the flaming hot city of Córdoba, Andalusia in the 1920s where an innkeeper named Federico Vargas operated an establishment known as Venta de Vargas, a popular watering hole. Noticing that his patrons had a tough time drinking the heavy, regional red wines such as full-bodied Valdepeñas, Vargas started mixing his house red wine with chilled gaseosa (semi-sweet soda water). Tinto de Verano remained siloed as a local phenomenon until after WWII when the commercial brand La Casera (title picture) was founded in 1949. La Casera sold a mass-market gaseosa which made the critical component cheap and widely available with popularity quickly following that distribution. Today, La Casera and others offer pre-mixed Tinto de Verano at most convenience and grocery outlets while some Restaurants and bars will still make their own from choice ingredients.
Tinto de Verano vs Sangria
With a name meaning "bloodletting", Sangria has historical origins in the Kingdom of León during the middle ages where peasants used whatever was available to upgrade the wine on hand, often sugar, oranges, lemons, and spices. During the American colonial period, the drink made the jump across the Atlantic where it was initially popular but then faded into obscurity until it was repopularized during the 1964 World's fair in New York. Sangria is higher ABV, calories, and sugar when compared to Tinto de Verano and obtain contains fruit slices.
Why don't we have Tinto de Verano in the United States?
American tourists, myself included, are consistently enamored with Tinto de Verano on their visits to Spain, but the drink has yet to make a major debut in the USA. The major limiting factor is the absence of a low sweetness and readily available gaseosa substitute. Sprite and Seven-Up are far too sweet and not particularly lemon forward. Importing pre-made Tinto de Verano is costly due to how it is taxed under HTSUS code 2206.00 ("mixtures of fermented beverages and non-alcoholic beverages") which exposes the entire mixture to volume based fees. After fees, shipping, and three tier distribution markups, that same 1.5L bottle of Tinto de Verano which is less than two euros would be $15 on the shelf. While it is potentially possible to have some interest event at that price point, existing Spanish companies seem content to focus on premium origin bottled wines for export instead. With canned cocktails continuing to pick up steam, maybe we'll see a domestic version soon.
Making Your Own Tinto De Verano in the US
Though we can't easily find it on the menu or a store shelf, we can get pretty darn close to our own Tinto de Verano at home.
- 3oz. Club Soda
- 1oz. Lemonade
- 4oz. Red Wine - You'll want a young high-acid, fruity wine. Look for Tempranillo or Garnacha at Trader Joe's or Costco. La Granja and Campo Viejo can be had for $4-7/bottle. You may be able to get away with Ruby Cabernets, Carignan, or un-oaked Zinfandels from California.
Serve over ice and garnish if you wish.
Which is better, Tinto de Verano or Sangria?
As usual it depends, Sangria wins for those with a sweet tooth or looking for a higher ABV experience while Tinto de Verano has the edge in pure crushability for all day refreshment and enjoyment. For me, Tinto de Verano is the clear choice, and I hope to whip up a batch of my own soon!