Make Wine Snowballs Before Summer Ends

What's the one thing you most likely remember about the Corleone family in the Godfather trilogy? For me, and I'd venture to guess many of you, it's the food!  Besides plotting to out each other, the entire cast seems to always have something in their mouth. After tasting Francis Ford Coppola's Diamond Collection wines, I'm convinced that only means one thing... that director Francis Ford Coppola knows a thing or two about great Italian cuisine and which wines successfully pair with homemade pastas, rich Strombolis, and passed plates of antipasti.

From opulent merlots to playful pinot grigios, summertime is the perfect time for pushing the boundaries a bit, mixing in cocktails reminiscent of Italian ice like Diamond Chardonnay Pink Grapefruit, Diamond Pinot Grigio Lemon Shiso, and Diamond Merlot Raspberry Lime. Artfully crafted with all-natural Skylite fruit syrups, here are some crushed ice drink recipes to try out:

Chardonnay Pink Grapefruit

2 ounces Gold Label Diamond Chardonnay

1/2 ounce Skylite Pink Grapefruit Syrup

8 ounces crushed ice

Merlot Raspberry Lime

2 ounces Blue Label Diamond Merlot

3/4 ounce Skylite Raspberry Lime

8 ounces crushed ice

Pinot Grigio Meyer Lemon Shiso

2 ounces Emerald Label Diamond Pinot Grigio

1/2 ounce Skylite Meyer Lemon Shiso

8 ounces crushed ice

And if you're ever tooling down California's US Highway 101 past Geyserville, take the Independence Lane exit to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery... a destination in itself... a wine wonderland featuring a tasting bar, two restaurants, swimming pools, a movie gallery, a performing arts pavilion, and verdant grounds featuring bocce courts awaiting your drop-in participation.