Red Winesicles

Calling all red wine lovers!

I saw winesicles on Pinterest the other day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about  them. What an interesting idea. I think these would be just perfect for an adults-only summer evening.

Ok, here's a couple of things I learned while making these popsicles. Now, as any college grad worth his/her weight in gold would know, alcohol does not freeze. So for all of you college freshman out there thinking the only thing better than ice in your vodka is ice made out of vodka, throw in the towel now. It ain't gonna happen. Wine and beer on the other hand? We all sure as heck know that if you leave a Pabst in the freezer for too long, it will explode. But that's a can, not a popsicle. These popsicles don't get as frozen as other popsicles, I believe due to the alcohol involved.  So when you are removing them from the mold, you don't have to run under warm water for a terribly long time. Another thing- because they aren't as solid as other pops, be careful when you are wiggling the pop out of the mold. It is possible to pull the stick out of the pop. And let me tell you, once you pull the stick out, you can't get it back in. Refreezing will not make the stick stay. You'll also need to lick fast, as they melt pretty fast.

I decided to just make a wine pop, but you can go ahead and toss diced fruit into these pops to make it a sangria pop. You'll note from this recipe that there isn't a ton of wine in these, so I'd say you aren't shknockered from these. But they do taste just like wine, which makes them good, ol-fashioned fun. If you are a wine-o and you want to make a fun, novelty item for your wine-guzzling buddies, I'd say go ahead and try these.

And, because you are going to be licking these down, use a good quality wine that you actually like to drink! I used one of my favorite red wines.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup red wine

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar over medium-high heat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Set aside, let cool to room temperature.
2. In a pourable container, thoroughly stir together the juice mixture and wine. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, place handles on popsicles. Freeze at least 8 hours before serving, or overnight.