Hock Lime and Soda

Posted by Darby on April 3, 2009 under Appetisers | Be the First to Comment

A refreshing wine drink for a heatwave.

In very hot weather I prefer not to drink wine. I sometimes have a few refreshing beers, but I get off alcohol altogether if the temperature is over 40 degrees C.

But here is a nice variation if you want to have some wine on a very hot day. You need more water and less alcohol. Wine spritzers (mixed with soda water or sparkling mineral water) are what you need

What is Hock?

In the heady days of the 1970s and before we had Australian Hock. This was a dry white wine style allegedly similar to wines produced in the German town of Hochheim in the Rhine. The wine was drier than “Riesling” but sold in a long bottle. Similar wines in a burgundy-style bottle were called “Chablis” although virtually none of them contained Chardonnay. Like most Australian wine styles at the time the quality varied from fairly good to bloody awful and the name Hock became unfashionable and dropped from use even before the pesky Europeans started to reclaim their names.

But after a hot day of working or touring in the Barossa thirsts need to be quenched. I can remember trying a few of these in a pub in Tanunda served in a beer pot glass, or was it a schooner? Of course the name evolved very rapidly to “Hook Line and Sinker”

Hock Lime and Soda.

Put a few ice blocks into a large beer glass (285 ml or more)
Half fill with dry white wine.
Add a slash of lime juice cordial and top up with soda water.
If you are feeling sophisticated you could add a slice of lemon.

Wine suggestion

Any dry white would do. Don’t use expensive wine.

Food suggestion

Beer nuts

Variation

Make up a jug full. You can use sparkling mineral water and a squeeze of fresh citrus juice if you wish.