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How to make wine pops, the coolest summer treat around

Wine not treat yourself?

Joey Skladany
3 min read

Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you the wine pop, aka your new favorite (and innovative!) way to get drunk while combating summer humidity.

Sipping a stiff red may be more associated with the snowy, fireside days of winter, but frankly, we can only take so many whites and rosés. Sure, wine is wine and we'll never actually discriminate against most bottles, but it'd be nice to have more summertime options than, perhaps, the standard glass of basic pinot grigio.

wine-pop-header-chowhound
Elena Veselova/Moment/Getty Images

Freezing wine to create a sugary treat may seem like an intimidating feat but it's actually quite easy. In fact, you can probably sip your way through the cooking and freezing process, so long as you're mindful of things like a stove's open flame.

Here's how to make wine pops:

1. To start, you're going to need to pick your poison. This is where we finally get to crack open that bottle of red we've been storing for fall, but you can, by all means, use the white or rosé you've been guzzling since May. 

2. Next, you're going to need to select your summery flavor profile. We suggest a seasonal berry or fruit that will really highlight the complexities of the vino. (Or just something that will taste good going down, tbh.) Red wine also happens to pair extremely well with chocolate, so here's your excuse to melt that good stuff down and create the Fudgesicle of your dreams.

3. Though recipes vary, most will require you to mix your wine (cooked down on the stove if it's red), fruit or other ingredients, sugar and usually another liquid (either a basic simple syrup, juice or citrus) in a food processor until it reaches your desired consistency. Keep it chunky if you enjoy noshing on bits of fruit. Keep it smooth if you want your tongue to do the talking. The beauty of the wine pop is that it's completely customizable, from taste and consistency to sweetness and alcohol level. 

4. From there, you simply pour the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze for a minimum of eight hours. That's. It. 

If you're not a fan of having popsicle sticks left over, try these zip-top, Otter Pop-style tubes for freezing your concoction instead.

Wine pop recipes

Don't believe that you can do this yourself? We've rounded up seven straightforward recipes that prove otherwise. The sooner you blend, the sooner you lick. And the sooner you lick, the sooner you cool down. We promise it's worth the effort.

Strawberry mojito wine pops

Don't be fooled: These don't have rum. That doesn't make them any less delicious, though. Fresh mint elevates everything, including your mood. Get the strawberry mojito wine pops recipe.

Chocolate dipped strawberry red wine pops

Honestly, we'd rather bite into one of these than an actual chocolate-covered strawberry. The addition of wine essentially makes them a multimeal. Get the chocolate dipped strawberry red wine pops recipe.

Peach wine pops

Peach and white wine are legitimate BFFs. Nobody should come between them, especially with this sweet treat. Get the peach wine pops recipe.

Raspberry frosé pops

Frosé is the summer trend that will never die. Bring it more life by tossing in raspberries and freezing it by the stickful. Get the raspberry frosé pops recipe.

Chianti, blueberry and basil ice pops

We're big fans of fresh herb cocktails, so we're definitely adding basil and blueberries to our next batch of wine pops. Get the chianti, blueberry and basil ice pop recipe.

Cherry merlot winesicles

Ripe cherries are good in pretty much anything, and wine pops are certainly no exception. Get the cherry merlot winesicle recipe.

Champagne pops

Sparkling wine is also fair game when it comes to frozen desserts, and these fruity dreamsicles give a new meaning to popping Champagne. Get the Champagne pops recipe.

This article was originally published on Chowhound.