The first Aperol Spritzers of the season!

I love summer so much - nothing like hanging out in the sun! I was introduced to Spritzers when we went to Austria two years ago; they are very popular summer drinks there. Spritzers are basically white wine, sparkling water, and some kind of other apertif/flavoring - for instance, Aperol, an orange-y herbal-y apertif similar to Campari. We then proceeded to spritz our way through Austria.

This was at Christian's former university in Vienna.

Hanging out by the Danube:

And about an hour after our engagement, of course we had to celebrate with Aperol Spritzers when we got down from the top of the Alps:

Anyway, today was such a gorgeous summer afternoon that of course we had to break out the Aperol for a spritzer! The classic uses Grüner Veltliner, but barring that, we decided to experiment with a sauvignon blanc from Washington State because Christian thought it might have the right characteristics for a spritzer. Add Aperol to taste, and some sparkling water.

Throw in an authentic Austrian and you're good to go.

Whenever someone asks me what my hobbies are, I'm tempted to say "Hanging out!" Because really, what's better than hanging out with a cocktail in the summertime?

 Veena