de en

Punch

Punch is a refreshing summer drink made of wine, sparkling wine and fruit or herbs. Colourful, fruity and well chilled, this fizzy classic guarantees fruity enjoyment.

  • 3-5

    ingredients

  • 18.

    century

  • 50s

    years

There’s really not much you can do wrong with this fruity cocktail – if you keep a few simple basic rules in mind:

  • The best punches only use a couple of ingredients.  
  • A punch is only ever as good as the wine or sparkling wine used in its making. German quality wine, a light Kabinett and fruity Winzersekt are excellent choices.
  • Only use fresh and fully ripe fruit.
  • Peel and chop the fruit carefully – do not crush it.
  • To get the fruit to develop its full aroma, just sugar it lightly or marinate it in grape liqueur. If you prefer a sweet punch, use sweet wines.
  • Only add – well chilled – sparkling wine and mineral water just before you serve the punch. This way, you’ll keep it fizzing for that much longer.
  • The ideal serving temperature for a punch is 5-8 °C, slightly cooler than for wine.

Do not add ice cubes to the punch. This will water it down. Best place the punch bowl inside a larger bowl filled with crushed ice.

And another thing: Once the punch is dwindling, do not top it up. It’s better to serve a good wine after the punch is finished.

Strawberry punch

Prepare a large plate full of fresh strawberries. Cut larger strawberries in half or quarter them. Sprinkle with sugar and let them sit for a while to release their juice. Alternatively, marinate the fruit in grape liqueur. Next, place fruit and juice in a punch bowl and let them steep in a little wine. Later, add 4-5 bottles of wine, such as well chilled rosé or Weißherbst. If possible, place the punch bowl on crushed ice. Just before serving, add a bottle of German Winzersekt and enjoy.

Peach punch

Peel 6-8 ripe peaches, cut them in half and remove the stones. Sprinkle the fruit pieces with sugar and let them steep. Next, add 3-4 bottles of wine, such as Riesling or Silvaner, and let the mixture steep for a couple of hours, preferably on ice. Just before serving, add a bottle of German Winzersekt for that zesty finishing touch.

Kumquat punch

Wash 15 kumquats in hot water, dry them and cut them into thin slices. Sprinkle with brown sugar and add a little wine, such as Pinot Gris or a mature Riesling. Let the mixture steep for a couple of hours, then top up with 2 bottles of wine and leave it to steep for some more time on ice. Just before serving, add a bottle of Winzersekt for that delightful sparkle.

How punch got its name

The German term for the refreshing summer cocktail made of wine and fruit is Bowle, derived from the English word “bowl”. Allegedly, the cocktail was invented by British colonial officers in India. To invigorate themselves and to overcome the sheer boredom of Colonial life, they got their Indian servants to create drinks for them that used at least five – or “punch” in Hindi – ingredients. Those were then served to the officers in a large “punchbowl”.

Thus the British started the fashion for punches in Europe in the 18th century. Initially reserved to nobility, drinking punch soon became a favourite pastime in bourgeois circles as well. The favourite drink of the 19th century high society later became the party craze of the 1950s. Today, the cocktail is becoming fashionable once again as an invigorating, fresh and fruity drink for the summer.

Do you know any other kind of punch than the traditional punch?

Besides the traditional punch like Cold Whisky Punch, Roman Punch, Ginger Punch,... for which spirits like brandy and whisky are used, you can also use grape wines to make a punch. How to make it? Find out in this article!

Asparagus again at last Rocket salad with green asparagus and turkey breast fillet

A light, young Rivaner goes well with green asparagus.

  • 400g Grüner Spargel
  • 100g Rucola
  • 400g Putenbrustfilets
  • 200g Kirschtomaten
  • 4 Eier
  • 1 EL Basilikum-Pesto
  • 1TL Butter
  • 2 EL Olivenöl
  • 2 EL Weißwein-Essig
  • etwas Salz, Pfeffer

Peel the lower third of the asparagus and cut off the ends. Cut the spears in half and cook in boiling salted water with 1 tsp butter for approx. 7 mins. Set the asparagus water aside.

 

Cook the eggs until almost firm (the yolk should still be a little soft), peel and cut into quarters. Cut the turkey breast fillet into strips.

 

Fry the pine nuts briefly without fat in a non-stick pan. Then add a little fat directly to the pan and fry the turkey breast strips. Then keep them warm.

 

Mix the pesto with the white wine vinegar, 5 tbsp of the asparagus water, the olive oil and salt and pepper in a salad bowl to make a dressing.

 

Wash the rocket and add to the dressing. Halve the cherry tomatoes and add to the bowl. Mix in the asparagus and turkey. Finally, garnish with the quartered eggs and pine nuts.</p

 

<p>This goes well with freshly baked ciabatta bread.

 

Wine recommendation:

 

A light Rivaner from the last harvest, fresh as spring, with delicate flavours.

  • Müller-Thurgau (brut)

with strong red wine Wild boar ragout

with strong red wine

  • 800 Gramm Fleisch vom Wildschwein (Keule o. Schulter)
  • 80 Gramm Bauchspeck
  • 100 Gramm Zwiebeln
  • 60 Gramm Karotten
  • 60 Gramm Staudensellerie
  • 1 TL Tomatenmark
  • 200 ml kräftigen Rotwein
  • 100 ml Portwein
  • 1 Liter braune Wildbrühe
  • 1 TL Preiselbeeren
  • 1 EL geschlagene Sahne o. Sauerrahm
  • 20 Gramm Mehl
  • 1 Stück Lorbeerblatt
  • je 1 Zweig Rosmarin und Thymian
  • 4 zerdrückte Wacholderbeeren
  • 1/2 TL Senf
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Clean and wash the vegetables and cut into evenly sized cubes.

 

Remove the fat, skin and tendons from the wild boar meat and cut into 3 cm cubes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Add the vegetables and diced bacon and fry. Add the tomato purée and stir fry. Deglaze with the red wine and port, reduce and pour in the brown game stock. Add the spices to the meat in a small spice bag and leave the ragout to simmer in the oven at 160°C for approx. 1½ hours.

 

Then remove the pieces of meat, remove the spices, strain the sauce, add the cranberries and mustard and leave to reduce for about 15 minutes. If necessary, thicken with a little cornflour. Serve with the whipped cream.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)

with semi-frozen goat's milk Lavender waffles

with semi-frozen goat's milk

  • 2 Stück Eigelb
  • 60 ml Ziegenmilch
  • 500 Gramm weiße Kuvertüre
  • 125 ml Sahne
  • Abrieb und Saft einer halben Orange
  • 2 cl Tresterbrand
  • 8 Blatt Minze
  • 125 Gramm Mehl

Semi-frozen goat's milk: Beat the egg yolks and goat's milk in a bowl over a hot bain-marie until creamy. Remove from the bain-marie and beat the cream until cold. Flavour with the zest of the orange and the marc brandy.

 

Liquefy the couverture in a bain-marie and stir into the lukewarm egg mixture. Whip the cream until stiff and carefully fold in. Line a parfait tin (triangular or gutter shape) with cling film. Pour in the mixture and smooth out. Cover well with cling film and leave to freeze in the freezer for at least 8 hours.

 

About 20 minutes before serving, remove the mould from the freezer and turn the parfait out of the mould. Remove the foil and cut the semi-frozen parfait into 8 slices.

<p

 

<p>Lavender wafers: Lightly mash the butter in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add the sugar and stir a little. Add half of the milk, the lavender sugar and the baking powder. Stir in the eggs and finally the rest of the milk. Mix everything well with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes to create a homogeneous, slightly liquid mixture. Bake the batter in batches in a waffle iron until golden brown.</p

 

<p>Arrange 2 slices of semifreddo on each waffle on a flat plate and decorate with mint leaves.

  • Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)

Wine recommendation: A white wine with a mellow flavour such as Pinot Gris or Chardonnay. Asparagus risotto al scampi

Risotto with green asparagus, scampi and parmesan.

  • 400g Grüner Spargel
  • 200g Küchenfertige Scampis
  • 200g Risotto-Reis
  • 250ml Trockener Weißwein
  • 500ml Gemüsebrühe
  • 50g Parmesan
  • 1 Zwiebel
  • 4EL Olivenöl
  • 1Dose Safranfäden
  • etwas Salz und Pfeffer

Peel the lower third of the asparagus and cut off the ends. Cut into 2 cm long pieces, cook in boiling salted water for approx. 5 minutes and drain. Cut the onion into thin slices and finely chop the garlic.

<p

 

<p>Heat 2 tbsp of oil, add the onion slices, garlic and rice
.

sauté until translucent. Deglaze with the white wine. Season with salt, pepper

and saffron to flavour. Add a little stock, bring to the boil and simmer, stirring constantly. Gradually add the remaining stock and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. The rice should still have a bite on the inside.

 

Wash the scampi and grate the Parmesan. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the scampi for approx. 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the asparagus, scampi and parmesan into the risotto and serve.

 

Wine recommendation:

 

A white wine with a mellow flavour such as Pinot Gris or Chardonnay. Alternatively, a well-chilled, light Trollinger or Blanc de Noir from Pinot Noir.

<p

  • Grauburgunder / Pinot Gris (extra brut)
  • Chardonnay (extra brut)
  • Trollinger (brut)
  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (brut)