Vin d'orange is traditionally drunk as an aperitif or as a digestive after dinner. It's basically made from a mixture of oranges, eau de vie, sugar and white wine - it's left to sit and macerate, the wine eventually taking on the colour of the oranges. The eau de vie fortifies the drink and aids in it's preservation.
The version I've made is an adaptation of this process - I've used blood oranges as I am partial to their wonderful colour and instead of taking a month to mature, this will be ready to drink in 3 days.
Vin d'Orange
220 grams/1 cup caster sugar
rind of 2 blood oranges
juice of 2 blood oranges
750ml/1 bottle of white wine
250ml/1 cup brandy
Place the sugar and blood orange juice into a small saucepan and slowly heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved, turn up the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens slightly.
Remove from the heat and let cool.
In a large ceramic/glass vessel, pour in the wine, brandy, sugar syrup and orange rinds. Stir well, seal and place in the fridge. Give it 3 days to macerate.
Strain through double thickness muslin to remove all solids and store in bottles in the fridge.
We'll be enjoying a glass or two tomorrow during the Melbourne Cup!
this looks so colourful and lovely! how long would it last? i'm assuming that it is kept in the fridge?
ReplyDeleteHi Kickpleat - yep, you keep it in the fridge. I find that it tends to be drunk fairly quickly so storage isn't an issue. It should have quite a long life but I would probably say drink it within a month or two.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sher, it tastes good too!
Love the colour!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brilynn - it's the blood oranges that give it that wonderful colour.
ReplyDeleteThanks Burcu - I do hope you enjoy it!