Champagne Floats

Champagne Floats make the perfect, easy party cocktail or punch idea for any party! Using any sparkling wine and a fruity sorbet, you can have a beautiful cocktail that's perfect for toasting anything!

Champagne Float Recipe

There are two things that make me think about the time I studied abroad in Italy. Wine and sorbet. Okay, and pasta and risotto. It's actually a long list!

When I studied abroad in Italy, I ate a lot of sorbet and gelato. It just became habit to grab a scoop on the way to class, the store, before a trip, or whenever I needed a quick snack. If you've been to Italy you know that gelaterias are everywhere, so they make it very easy to fill up on your favorite flavors often.

At the end of the school year, one of my classes had a party to celebrate. Someone poured glasses of red wine mixed with prosecco. The result was a fabulously bubbly glass of red wine. (Yes, you can drink wine during school parties because, well, Italy!)

The other day I was looking for a champagne cocktail recipe for a New Year's Eve party, and somehow I found myself thinking about that time in my class. Then the idea popped into my head to add in sorbet to make a fabulously bubbly and sweet cocktail.

These champagne floats are perfectly bubbly and creamy and decidedly delicious. They'd be perfectly festive for a holiday party or refreshing in the summertime for parties like baby showers. Paired with White Chocolate Covered Strawberries, the whole event will just feel *fancy*!

Why you'll love this recipe

Champagne floats are so festive and fun! Here's why you should try them ASAP:

• You can customize them with your favorite flavors of sorbet.
• They are refreshing and great way to dress up a simple glass of champagne.
• It's a simple two-ingredient cocktail that is inexpensive to make.

They'd be the perfect bubbly drink to toast with on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve or even Valentine's Day. With a red sorbet, they'd be so festive and fun, and could even be the perfect sweet treat in lieu of dessert.

Or serve them at a summertime party with other flavors of sorbet. Whether you're hosting a bridal shower, brunch, or casual ladies get-together, this easy champagne float is the perfect featured cocktail for your event!

It's a bonus that you can make them with sparkling lemonade or sparkling cider so the kids and non-drinkers can enjoy them too.

Ingredients

In order to make this little bellini-like drink, you have to start with a few basics. Here's are the simple ingredients to grab at the grocery store:

• Fruity sorbet: Raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, lemon or any fruit flavor would go well with sparkling wine. You could even offer multiple flavors and let guests choose. (I made raspberry champagne floats for these pictures.)
• Sparkling wine: Champagne is the classic drink in this category, but it can be expensive. Feel free to use your favorite champagne, but since prosecco is Italian, it gets my pick for this drink. Asti or cava would also work. Or you could use sparkling rosé for pink champagne floats.
• Fresh fruit, for garnish: Pick up some fresh versions of your sorbet flavor, e.g. fresh raspberries. Maraschino cherries and mint leaves would also be quite festive.

And that's it! These bubbly cocktails are so simple yet so impressive, and that's what's so great about them.

One thing I wouldn't recommend is using ice cream or gelato. Sorbet is made with water, so it melts more like ice. Ice cream and gelato have cream, and they won't be as nice to mix with the bubbly champagne.

How to Make Champagne Floats

Here's how to make this delicious recipe, step by step.

First add 1 to 3 scoops of your sorbet to a champagne flute. (Wine glasses also work!)

The number of scoops depends on your preference — do you want them more fruity or more bubbly? More fruity = more scoops. More bubbly = one scoop.

You can also serve more people from one pint of sorbet if you stick to one scoop per person.

Hot Tip: You can actually scoop all the sorbet ahead of time and place the scoops on a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then you can start scooping. Work quickly so it doesn't melt! Place the scoops a few inches apart, then refreeze until go-time. Then you can just drop the scoops into the glasses!

Next up is the bubbly! Pop that bottle and pour — but slowly!

The cold temperature of the frozen sorbet will cause the bubbles in the sparkling wine to fizz up faster than if you were just pouring a glass of champagne by itself. If you've ever made root beer floats or a Coke float, this is the same idea.

Pour in small amounts, then let the fizz fizzle out before adding more. You ideally want the glasses to be about ¾-full.

A good rule of thumb is to stop pouring once the foam has reached the top of the glass. When it fizzles out, it will be just the right amount.

Bonus tip: If you want these to be a little punchier, you can pour 1 ounce of vodka or gin over top of the sorbet, then top with the champagne.

Then top with some fresh fruit, maybe a mint leaf or a sprig of thyme. Here I used raspberries, but I've used maraschino cherries before too.

Repeat with all the servings, say a toast and enjoy this fruity drink!

Non-alcoholic variation

You can use sparkling wine or sparkling apple cider in lieu of regular champagne. Even ginger ale or 7-Up will work.

This is perfect for kids or any non-drinkers at the party. The addition of sorbet will make their drink feel extra special!

Variations

I made raspberry sorbet champagne floats, but feel free to mix up the flavors. Here are a few flavors to consider!

For a spring drink, such as for Easter or Mother's Day, make strawberry sorbet champagne floats.

Lemon sorbet will provide a bright and fresh, lemonade-like flavor. Perfect for summer!

Use homemade watermelon sorbet for another totally summery cocktail.

Either cranberry sorbet or pomegranate sorbet would be wonderful for Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas.

If you prefer something without the sorbet, this Hawaiian Mimosa is fruity and bubbly, but skips the sorbet and uses juices instead.

More Holiday Drinks

• Spiced Cranberry Sangria
• Sparkling Cranberry Ginger Ale Punch
• Spiced Apple Cider
• Strawberry Ginger Ale Punch
• Orange Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail