Midnight Vineyard Punch
Grape juice on its own is almost too sweet to drink by the cupful. Cut with tart cranberry, lemon and plain sparkling water it turns into something grown-ups go back for, and the colour does the decorating: deep enough to look black in the bowl, purple when the light comes through a glass.
What you'll need
- 4 cups Concord grape juice, chilled (960 ml)
- 2 cups cranberry juice, chilled (480 ml)
- 0.25 cup fresh lemon juice (60 ml)
- 4 cups plain sparkling water, chilled (960 ml)
- 2 cups frozen blackberries (about 280 g)
- 1 orange, sliced into thin rounds
- 0.33 cup Concord grape juice (80 ml)
- 3 tablespoons cranberry juice (45 ml)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (5 ml)
- 0.33 cup plain sparkling water (80 ml)
- 4 frozen blackberries
How to make it
Stir the grape juice, cranberry juice and lemon juice together in a punch bowl or dispenser.
Tip in the frozen blackberries. They chill the punch without watering it down and darken it as they thaw.
Just before serving, pour in the sparkling water and give it one gentle stir. Float the orange rounds on top.
Glass: Punch bowl or dispenser; clear tumblers. Garnish: Orange rounds on the surface; a blackberry or two in each cup.
Chef's secrets
For an even darker bowl, a drop or two of black gel food colouring deepens it without changing the taste.
Ginger ale in place of sparkling water makes a sweeter punch younger guests tend to prefer.
Good to know
Mix the three juices up to two days ahead and refrigerate. Add the berries, sparkling water and orange at serving time.