The Summer Spritz Guide: Lighten Up with Purple Toad

Wine + Ice + Sparkling Water. That's the whole campaign. Here's how to build it. 

Our Lighten Up summer campaign is built on one simple idea: sweet wine was born to spritz. Pour your favorite Purple Toad over ice, top with sparkling water, and you've turned a full-strength pour into something bright, cold, light, and long -- without losing the fruit-forward flavor you actually came for. This guide is the full companion piece. Six spritz recipes, the right sparkling water to use, and how to set up a spritz bar at your next backyard cookout or bridal shower.

The Ritual: Three Steps to a Perfect Spritz

01 · Fill with ice 

Grab your biggest glass and load it up. A stemless wine glass, a rocks glass, a balloon glass, even a mason jar -- whatever's in the cabinet. More ice means colder, lighter, and slower to dilute. Skimp on ice and the spritz waters out in ten minutes. Don't skimp. 

02 · Add sparkling water 

A generous splash of chilled sparkling water goes in first. Plain club soda, seltzer, or a fruit-flavored sparkling -- pick based on the wine (chart below). This is what lengthens the pour and keeps it fizzy and light. 

03 · Top with wine 

Pour your Purple Toad over the top, about two-thirds of the glass. That's the right ratio -- enough sparkling water to lighten the pour, enough wine to keep the flavor intact. Squeeze of citrus if it fits the wine, quick stir, sip. 

Six Purple Toad Spritzes to Try This Summer 

Every wine on our shelf can spritz. These are the six we'd start with -- one for every kind of summer afternoon. 

The two campaign anchors are Black & Bruised and Tropical Sangria -- the bottles featured in the Lighten Up campaign. Black & Bruised gives you our flagship blackberry-and-Concord blend lightened into a brighter pour. Tropical Sangria is built for a crowd and basically pours itself into a spritz pitcher. Both work over ice, both work with sparkling, both work fast. 

Which Sparkling Water Should You Use? 

The sparkling water matters more than people think. Use the wrong one and you fight the wine. Use the right one and the spritz tastes like it's been planned for years.

How to Build a Spritz Bar at Home 

Hosting a cookout, a bridal shower, a backyard birthday? Set up a self-serve spritz bar and let guests build their own. Cheaper than a full bar, way more fun, and it tells your guests "this is a summer party" the second they walk up. 

What you need 

• 2-3 Purple Toad bottles, chilled. Black and Bruised + Tropical Sangria covers most crowds. Add Cotton Candy or Peach if you've got a mixed group 

• A big bucket of ice. Plan on twice as much as you think you need 

• 2-3 sparkling waters. One plain (club soda or seltzer), one citrus-flavored, one fruit-flavored 

• A board of garnishes. Cut lemons, limes, oranges, fresh berries, mint, basil • Stemless wine glasses or rocks glasses -- whatever you've got 

• A printed copy of the recipes next to the setup so guests don't have to ask 

Pro tips from hosting our own 

• Pre-chill everything. Wine, sparkling water, garnishes. A warm bottle ruins a spritz before it starts 

• Big ice cubes beat small. One big cube melts slow; a handful of small cubes dilutes fast 

• Put a pitcher of plain ice water out too. Spritzes go down easy, but your guests still need water in the heat 

• If it's a bigger crowd, batch one spritz in a pitcher -- a Tropical Sangria spritz works beautifully as a pre-mixed pitcher with extra fresh fruit

Why Sweet Wine Spritzes Work 

Some folks ask if our sweet wines are sturdy enough to spritz. They are -- and here's the science: 

• Our wines have enough fruit, body, and acidity to hold up to ice and sparkling water. A thin, syrupy sweet wine would wash out. Ours don't

• Fresh fruit and fruit juice -- never artificial flavoring. When you dilute the pour, the real fruit character still comes through. There's nothing fake to lose 

• The bubbles lift the aromas, which makes the fruit taste brighter and fresher. A spritz literally tastes lighter than a straight pour 

• You're in control of the strength. Two-thirds wine is the standard, but a half-and-half pour is great if you've got a long afternoon ahead. Adjust to the day

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is a wine spritz? 

A wine spritz is wine poured over ice with a splash of sparkling water -- bright, cold, lighter than a straight pour. The Italian original (an Aperol Spritz) is built on bitter aperitifs. The Purple Toad version uses our sweet fruit wines as the base -- fruit-forward, refreshing, and built for Kentucky summer heat. 

What's the right ratio of wine to sparkling water? 

About two-thirds wine, one-third sparkling water, over plenty of ice. Adjust to taste -- a half-and-half pour drinks lighter for long afternoons, and a heavier wine pour keeps more of the original flavor. The order matters: ice first, sparkling water second, wine on top. 

Which Purple Toad wine is best for a spritz? 

Black and Bruised and Tropical Sangria are the campaign-anchor bottles -- both spritz beautifully. Black and Bruised gives you our flagship blackberry-and-Concord flavor lightened into something brighter. Tropical Sangria is the crowd-pleaser. Cotton Candy, Peach, Killer B's, and Lauren's Blackberry all work too -- see the chart above. 

Can I use tonic water instead of sparkling water? 

We'd skip the tonic. The quinine bitterness in tonic fights our sweet fruit wines. Plain club soda, seltzer, or a fruit-flavored sparkling water is the right call. 

Do I need a special glass? 

Not really. A stemless wine glass or a rocks glass is ideal -- both handle ice well. Mason jars and balloon glasses also work. Just pick something big enough to hold ice plus the pour. 

Will the spritz get watered down? 

Not if you use enough ice and big cubes. The key is loading the glass with ice before you pour. One big ice cube dilutes slow; a handful of small ones dilutes fast. More ice = colder pour = longer drink. 

Can I batch a spritz in a pitcher? 

Yes -- this works great for parties. Use 1 bottle of wine (750ml) + 1 bottle of sparkling water (roughly 25 oz) and serve over ice in glasses. Tropical Sangria is the best pitcher spritz. Add fresh fruit to the pitcher 10 minutes before serving. 

Is a spritz a good move for someone who wants a lighter pour? 

Yes -- it's a natural way to lighten the drink. Two-thirds wine in a spritz is less alcohol per glass than a straight pour, and the bubbles plus ice slow you down. A great fit for brunch crowds and long summer afternoons when someone wants a lighter pour.