Refreshing and sweet: plum wine granita

It was a funny weather weekend here – alternately sunny, warm and beautiful and rainy, cold and foggy. We were back at the beach and rolled with the punches, getting caught in a torrential downpour on Saturday night that caused us to run home, camera tucked under my sweater. It was nice to be away despite having to hole up inside on occasion. We took the opportunity to visit a local winery and indulge in a tasting. Rosé is apparently in vogue right now – and I will admit to being a bit wooed by the lovely pink color, and the girly-ness of it all. The combination of summer, wine, and pink inspired me to concoct a granita recipe loosely modeled after a little after dinner treat served at our local Japanese restaurant: plum wine granita.

The first time I had it I was amazed at how flavorful and refreshing it was. I asked for the recipe but apparently it’s a well-guarded secret, so I set off to tinker with the likely ingredients and came up with a version that is highly pleasing. It’s the perfect cooling summer treat: light, refreshing, and mildly alcoholic! As with any granita, you don’t need any special equipment – just a fork and a freezer-safe container – ideally one with a wide surface area for even freezing, like an 8 x 12 Pyrex with 2 or 3 inch sides.

Granitas with a high an alcohol content like this take a while to freeze and don’t stay frozen long so it’s best to plan a day ahead, stick your glasses in the freezer to chill for a while, fill them with the finished granita and then serve them directly from the freezer. The granita itself may take a half a day or longer to completely freeze, but the good news is you only have to check in on it every couple of hours while its doing so.

Plum wine granita (serves 4-6)

2 cups Japanese plum wine*
2.5 cups water
½ cup plus 1 Tbs sugar
1.5 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
4 Tbs crème de cassis (adds another flavor note and color – can be omitted).

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat. Combine with plum wine, cassis and lime juice. Taste and add additional sugar or lime juice if you like. Pour into a freezer-safe container (8x12 with 2 to 3 inch sides works well). Begin checking after two hours. As ice crystals form, use a fork to break them into smaller crystals taking care to scrape along the sides where the crystals will first form. Check and repeat every 1.5 - 2 hours until frozen.

*Note: Plum is ume in Japanese. I used this one. In general, look for a wine you'd be happy to drink but it need not be of the highest quality. The color of plum wine varies: Kikkoman, for example, produces an amber-colored plum wine that will result in a darker colored granita.