It’s Summer: Put Peaches in Your Red Wine

About 12 years ago, I was at a friend’s apartment in Brooklyn on one of the hottest nights of the summer. She offered me a drink, then pulled a giant pitcher from the refrigerator filled with slices of ripe peaches floating in red wine. That first taste — of both the cold red wine and alcohol-soaked peaches — was absolute bliss. It’s become a summer tradition in my house ever since.

It’s also a tradition in many Italian households, both in the old country and here in the States. Pesche al vino, or peaches in wine, is as simple as it sounds: Get the ripest peaches you can (with a slight give to the touch but not mushy), peel them if you want, slice them into half moons and toss them in your red wine of choice. The number of peaches doesn’t matter too much, but three or four for every 750ml bottle is a good start. Or you can start with just one to see how you like it.

Some Italians mull the wine with sugar and spices before adding the peaches and chilling it down. I don’t think that’s necessary because it’s way more work for a drink that is so simply delicious. But if that sounds good to you, go for it.

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As for the type of red wine to use, really anything goes, so you can tailor it to your own tastes. I think something with a light to medium body works great so that the tannins and dark fruit flavors aren’t too overpowering. Cannonau di Sardegna is wonderful, as is a sangiovese. I also love to give French reds the peach treatment, especially GSM (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) blends. But if you have a pinot noir from California or Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes you love, why not try it with peaches?

The result offers some Sangria vibes, but without the extra sugar and added ABV of liqueur. I find it to be a happy medium between the minerally, citrus-forward whites and Provence rosés I like to drink in hot weather and the bone-dry tannic syrahs my husband wants year-round. My mom and I were walking after dinner on a recent scorching summer evening, and the subject turned to which wine we would drink on the deck when we returned home. I told her about my love for this peach-tinged wine, and she reminisced about my own Nonna serving it when she and my father were first dating. Although we opted for a New Zealand sauv blanc that night, the conversation sparked a memory, and she plans to serve peaches in red wine at her annual late-summer dinner party.

So go ahead, throw some peaches in your wine. While you’re at it, add ice to sparkling wine if it’s too warm and drink it all out of a juice glass if you don’t want to take your stemware into the yard. Summer is here and anything goes.

Meet your guide

Amanda Gabriele

Amanda is InsideHook’s Senior Editor and has been writing about food, drinks, travel and style for 16 years. She’s written for Travel + Leisure, Eater, Gear Patrol and New York Magazine among other outlets.