We already mentioned Picon Bière, a mix of beer with Amer, which is especially popular in Alsace in France. In northern France, Amer (or Picon) is mainly drunk in combination with white wine. A Picon Vin Blanc is perhaps the most popular aperitif in the north of France. Every cafe or restaurant has its own (secret) recipe for their popular local drink. In the alcoholic version of a Picon Vin Blanc, one or a few extra ingredients are often added to add a personal touch. In many cases it is a dash of cointreau, a little orange juice, a little lemon juice or lemon syrup. Traditionally, nobody wants to share their secret recipe, but we will break that tradition by publishing our recipe here.
Choose the wine wisely
For an alcohol-free Picon Vin Blanc, the taste will mainly be determined by the wine that you use. If your wine is sweeter your whole drink will be sweeter, if you use a less sweet wine, your Picon Vin Blanc will be less sweet. Makes sense. But you have to take this into account if you want to add an extra ingredient to your Picon Vin Blanc. Because non-alcoholic white wine is always slightly sweeter than an alcoholic wine, you are best not to do too much extra sweeteners with your Amer with Vin Blanc. It is precisely for that reason that we have chosen to use Wolfberger’s Amer for the Picon Vin Blanc. This one is, as you can read here, slightly less sweet than the alcohol-free Picon of Sommer. To give our Picon Vin Blanc a little extra spice, we added a little ginger syrup from Monin. This is not necessary, but it provides an extra stimulus that gives the mix a little more power.
What do you need?
- Non Alcoholic Amer (We used Wolfberger, but you can also use Sommer or even The Bitter Note)
- Alcohol-free white wine
- Ginger syrup
- An orange
How do you make it?
Fill your glass with ice cubes and add 1/3 non-alcoholic Amer and 2/3 non-alcoholic white wine. Normally you use 10 cl. white wine and 5 cl. Amer, in a larger glass you can of course use a bit more. Add, if desired, 2 cl ginger syrup from Monin or another ginger syrup. Make sure that all the ingredients that you use are well cooled. The taste of most non-alcoholic wines is a lot better when they are served very cold. By also cooling the Amer and filling the glass with ice cubes, you ensure that you serve the alcohol-free Picon Vin Blanc as well as possible. Garnish the glass with a slice of orange or add a piece of orange to the drink. Enjoy!
