Medio y Medio Cocktail Recipe
Half sweet sparkling wine, half dry white: a light, bubbly Uruguayan aperitif that drinks like a soft champagne.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Wine glass
- ABV: 11%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Sweet sparkling white wine90 ml (3 oz)
- Dry white wine90 ml (3 oz)
How to Make It
- Chill both wines until they are very cold.
- Pour equal parts dry white wine and sweet sparkling wine into a chilled wine glass.
- Do not stir — let the bubbles do the mixing.
- Serve immediately as an aperitif.
Garnish
None — served plain and very cold
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, it is carbonated and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A stemmed wine glass. The big bowl leaves room for ice and fruit, and gives the aroma somewhere to gather.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Dry white wine
- A white with low residual sugar and live acidity. A sweet white turns the drink into syrup; failing that, a dry sparkling wine does the job.
The Story
The mix is said to have been created at a bar in Montevideo's Mercado del Puerto in the late 19th century; its name simply describes the fifty-fifty proportion, and it is still poured there today.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Medio y Medio mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a wine glass.
- How strong is a Medio y Medio?
- Roughly 11% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Medio y Medio be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Medio y Medio hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Wine in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.