3 Awesome Ways To Turn Wine Into Soft Serve

If you can’t get your claws on a pint of wine-infused ice cream this summer, don’t sweat it. Be your own bartender-turned-ice cream scooper and make the warm-weather favorite at home. There’s no need to dip into your vacation budget because one trip you won’t be taking this summer is to Williams-Sonoma to buy any special equipment. Ready in seconds, all you’ll need to achieve boozy nirvana is a frozen banana, a bottle of your favorite fermented grapes, additional mix-ins, and a blender.

Freeze bananas the night before blending your wino soft serve (don’t forget to remove the fruit from its peel and wrap in tinfoil). The frozen banana adds a density that resembles the texture of a perfect frozen yogurt swirl. Good news for your stomach: this delight is completely dairy-free, so you won’t suffer from any aches after the whole pint mysteriously disappears. But don’t let the lack of lactose deter you from enjoying this as dessert. The banana base makes this treat spoon-worthy—and the perfect companion to console you when curled up in front of a tearjerker.

Add fresh fruit or candied toppings, because this soft serve is still the soil to build your sugary garden of Eden upon. It’s exactly like taking a trip to your favorite soft serve joint, with the added bonus of booze which you can’t dispense from a lever. 

Chocolate Merlot Soft Serve

Dark fruits like blackberries are prominent on the nose of this Merlot. Add cocoa powder to elevate the dark side.

Yields about 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup Merlot

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and combine until smooth. Serve in a wine glass!

Pineapple-Honey Pinot Blanc Soft Serve

The Hugel Pinot Blanc I used has hints of peach which blends well with pineapple and honey. Slurp, sip, or spoon this white wine soft serve blissfully in a summer breeze.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 frozen bananas

1 cup frozen pineapple

1 tsp honey

1/2 cup Pinot Blanc

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and combine until smooth. Serve in a wine glass!

Strawberry Rosé Soft Serve

Relax and refresh with a bowl of rosé. Notes of berry tend to pair well with actual berries. Add enough pink to this soft serve, and give even Barbie the spins.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1/2 cup rosé

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and combine until smooth. Serve in a wine glass!