Addicted to the new new thing, I found a remedy with How to Drink (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009) by Victoria Moore.
I know, in Internet years, 18 months is a lifetime yet How to Drink has much to offer.
British wine writer Victoria Moore attended too many parties and events where drinks seemed to be an afterthought and failed to live up to the food that was served.
With What to Drink she stayed away from exotic show offs and instead sticks to the basics.
Being practical she also offers a number of cocktails that can be served in carafes, a real time saver at summer parties.
I picked two of her recipes starting with the Riesling Cup.
Riesling Cup
1 bottle German riesling
3 ounces Cointreau
3 ounces cognac
1 peach, stoned and sliced
Handful of strawberries or a sliced nectarine (optional)
Sugar to taste
1 1/4 cups sparkling water
Mix the wine, spirits, fruit, and sugar in a glass jug and leave in the fridge for a few hours to blend. Just before serving, add the sparkling water, stir, and pour into glasses over ice.
Victoria Moore latest column for The Telegraph is Francis Ford Coppola's second career as a winemaker (July 1, 2011)
(* Recipe from How to Drink reproduced by permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing…Book was published by Granta in the UK)