Drunk Strawberries

When I told you about our garden party I mentioned a special German drink I made. This drink is called Erdbeerbowle or, as I simply call it, "drunk strawberries". It is one, if not THE most popular summer party drink in Germany. It's a true crowd pleaser, and it's super easy to prepare.

You only need 4 ingredients - strawberries, sugar, a dry Riesling and (dry) sparkling wine.

Start out with the strawberries - since I was expecting quite a crowd I prepared three baskets of strawberries that I got at the farmers market.

Dice the strawberries small enough that they can float in a wineglass, but not too small either.

Put them in a bowl that is big enough to hold the entire drink but that also fits into your refrigerator.

Add some sugar - I barely cover the berries and then mix it in. You don't want the fruit to become too sweet.

Add a bit of lime peel - this is optional. It enhances the flavor.

Then pour your first bottle of dry Riesling in the bowl until all the strawberries are immersed in the wine. It is important that you use a DRY Riesling and not a sweet one. The ones from Oregon, Washington and, even better, British Columbia are good choices.

Put the bowl in the fridge and chill for at least one to two hours. You can also leave it overnight (and get very drunk strawberries - yummy!).

Shortly before or when your guests arrive, pull the bowl out and empty another bottle of the same Riesling into it.

Now comes the fun part: Open the bottle of sparkling wine and pour it over the strawberries and the wine.

Aaaah.....

Get a ladle, fill into glasses, relax and enjoy.

Cheers!