Recipe, Food-Styling, Photo: Oliver Schwarzwald

Red Red Wine

UB40's chart-topping cover version, of the old Neil Diamonds track, has always been very heavy stuff for my ears. And so was the world-famous drink of the same name, but for my head. No matter how I did it, I got a headache right on time after the second sip. Slightly pulling, at the front of my forehead, unpleasant, the evening thus ended prematurely. And I tasted my way intensively and very extensively through many of the well-known varieties. I couldn't stand it, and it never really tasted good to me. Heavy, alcoholic and just associated with instant headaches. In the past, I was always told, you have no idea. The true connoisseur drinks red wine. The Champions League of culinary arts. In the meantime, I have no problem stating for myself that I simply don't like the stuff. No matter what fuss is made about it. Red wines have only regained importance for me in non-alcoholic form.

It's a completely new category, so for me there are no limits here, you can mix and match. Red wine in a cocktail? Apart from the attempts to get drunk on red-wine cola as a teenager, it was never an issue. Cocktails with wine also tend to play a minor role in the bar world. Besides Hugo and Sangria, there are various other wine cocktails. But there is something strange about it all. On the one hand, people talk about the fine aromas, complexity, location, grape, ageing, etc. On the other hand, the fine drop is put into the shaker with spirits. There won't be much left of the red wine. Nevertheless, this type of cocktail has a long tradition. The Bishop, (red wine, rum, water, lemon, sugar) is said to have been mentioned in Jerry Thomas' Bartender's Guide as early as 1862. A light wine is recommended for this cocktail. Apparently, the tannins and fruit flavours are used here, but can they compete with the rum? I dare to doubt it.

A non-alcoholic red wine also has tannins and fruit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and of course the taste profile is not as complex, you have to be honest. But there is nothing high-proof on top that can completely mask the taste. Alcohol-free, a wine cocktail makes more sense to me. First, cherries and almond syrup (Orgeat) go into the shaker. Fun fact: "Cherry pits and bitter almonds contain the same volatile oil. This fact is used in the production of the famous Maraschino cherry" (source: the Taste Thesaurus by Niki Segnit). And when something is naturally related, it is guaranteed to work. By the way, Monin syrups are also available in small bottles, and almond syrup is versatile. For example, for a delicious Cafe Leccese (cafe on ice with almond syrup). Lemon juice brings the necessary acidity, alcohol-free red wine the body. Carl Jung's Merlot, for example, is a very good base for the Red-Almond Tonic. Nice tannins and clear fruit that stand up excellently next to cherry, almond and tonic. For more complexity, I add a dash of Angostura bitters. The alcohol content of the drink should still be under 0.5% now, because it's very little Angostura. But I can only speculate on that. I don't mind and I don't notice any "alcohol trigger". If that's too tricky for you, you should do without the bitters here. There are already great alcohol-free alternatives in the USA from All The Bitter, which will hopefully soon be available here too. I've already had the chance to try it, and it's a gamechanger!

It's topped up with Edelflower Tonic from Fevertree. It's not quite as tart and the floral notes give the drink its character. The cocktail is accompanied by fennel and leeks from the oven. Very easy to prepare. The fennel flavour harmonises with the almond and cherry. The fennel is made into a mush with white beans and seasoned with plenty of lemon. The dish is a perfect counterpart to the spicy leek. Which is grilled properly in the oven and thus becomes almost sweet. The dish is suitable as a vegetarian starter or as a side dish with merguez and grilled lamb. The drink also goes well with it. Either still now, the cherries are ripe! Or soon in winter, to bring back some summer feeling. Then the cherries come out of the freezer, for example.

In this spirit Red Red Wine ... the catchy tune is for free!

Have Fun Sober Buddies.

Fennel puree:

2 fennels with greens, if possible

1 small tin of white beans (keep a few beans for decoration)

3 cloves of garlic

1.5 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp salt

Juice and zest of 2 small lemons

3 tbsp oil and a little extra to taste

2 tbsp water as needed

Preheat the oven to 300 °C. Clean the fennel and cut into thin slices, keeping the greens. Press the garlic through a press, mix with the oil, add salt and pepper. Marinate the fennel slices in it and spread them on a baking tray. Then bake for about 20 min until the fennel is completely golden brown. Some parts will certainly get a little darker, but that doesn't matter. Leave to cool and transfer to a food processor. Puree on the highest setting. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water. Add the beans, lemon juice and lemon zest. If the mixture is too firm, add a little water as needed. Then season again strongly with a little olive oil, salt, pepper. Serve on a plate with chopped fennel greens and beans.

Leeks according to Alison Roman:

4 leeks - thoroughly cleaned.

80ml olive oil

1 tbsp harissa

Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 280 °CCut off the dark green parts of the leeks, cut in half lengthways and wash thoroughly. Place the cut side down and, without cutting the root, cut lengthwise into 5 mm wide strips. Mix the olive oil with the harissa and carefully marinate the leeks in a bowl or baking dish. Season with salt and pepper and spread on a baking tray. Roast the leeks in the oven until brown. Approx. 30min. Remove from the oven and arrange on top of the fennel. Sprinkle with salt flakes and a little lemon juice.

The drink:

For 1 long drink glass

6 cherries (fully ripe fresh, otherwise from the jar, or defrosted from the freezer.)

3 cl Orgeat (almond syrup)

6 CL non-alcoholic red wine (C.Jung Merlot)

2 CL lemon juice

1 Dash Angostura

Tonic Water / preferably Edelflower Fevertree

Mint and cherry to garnish

Place cherries in the shaker and roughly crush. Add orgeat, wine, lemon juice, Angostura and ice. Shake vigorously. Fill a highball glass with ice. Strain the drink and top up with tonic. Stir once and garnish.

Red Almond Tonic - fennel and spicy leeks from the oven

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