With a simple combination of vanilla ice cream, red blend wine, and club soda, these beautiful red wine floats are a breeze to make for any occasion or event.

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Two red wine floats garnished with a sliced cherry.

About Red Wine Floats

Classy and elegant, these red wine floats are perfect for those who adore red wine – and those who may not.

The added sweetness in these floats (thanks to the vanilla ice cream) makes them a crowd-pleasing way to share your favorite red blend wine with friends.

What type of wine should you use?

Any red wine should work for these floats, since the vanilla ice cream will do a lot of the heavy lifting in bringing out the sweetness – but I’ve found that a reasonably-priced sweet red blend wine does the best.

Side view of a red wine float with a foamy top.

Do you have to use club soda?

Not everyone is a fan of club soda, and you can work around this in two ways:

  • In short: don’t use it. This works best if you’re using a sparkling red wine, since the bubbles in the club soda are what react to the ice cream, creating a foamy top. You could still make this float with a non sparkling wine, though; you just have to be okay with little to no foam and may need to add a bit more ice cream to curb any sharp tastes from the alcohol.
  • Substitute the club soda for cherry soda or any other flavored soda that will compliment the wine you’ve picked.

How to measure this wine float

This wine float is written like a standard drink recipe, meaning that instead of an exact measurement (ex: 1 cup) the recipe will read “1 part.”

This can sometimes be a little confusing, but I’ve found the best way to think of it as this:

Recipes that measure in parts usually mean it’s written so that you can adjust the size of the drink to whatever you want and the measurements they give you (1 part, 1/2 part, etc) are so you can keep the ratio of the ingredients correct.

For example, let’s say you wanted to make one drink – this typically means you’re using 1 standard shot glass for measuring. So then when the recipe says “1 part” you would interpret that amount as “1 standard shot glass” full. If the recipe says “1/2 part” you’d fill the shot glass halfway so that it’s “1/2 standard shot glass.” OR, let’s say you wanted to make enough drinks for a few friends. When making the drink you could interpret “1 part” as “1 cup” (or “1/2 part” to “1/2 cup.”)

This way the drink will taste the same no matter what size you make it.

Holding a glass of red wine float, looking down.

What are the exact measurements for one drink

In a hurry and want simple measurements for just one drink? No problem! Just use this as a guide:

  • 1 cup vanilla ice cream (roughly two, large scoops)
  • 2-4 cherries, pitted and halved
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup club soda

You can also select “Metric” measurements in the recipe card below to see these numbers.

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How to make a red wine float

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – In a wine glass, add the ice cream and cherries.

Step 2 – Next, pour in the wine.

Step 3 – Top it off with club soda.

Step 4 – Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Details

Two red wine floats garnished with a sliced cherry.
3.50 from 2 votes

Red Wine Float

5 minutes prep
375 kcal
Yields: 1 drink
With a simple combination of vanilla ice cream, red blend wine, and club soda, these beautiful red wine floats are a breeze to make for any occasion or event.

Ingredients 

  • 4 part vanilla ice cream
  • cherries, pitted and halved, for garnish (optional)
  • 2 part red wine
  • 1 part club soda, or to taste

Instructions

  • In a standard wine glass, add ice cream and cherries (optional)
  • Pour wine over ice cream.
  • Top with club soda, to taste.
  • Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1drink | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 558IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 1mg

I do my best to provide nutrition information, but please keep in mind that I’m not a certified nutritionist. Any nutritional information discussed or disclosed in this post should only be seen as my best amateur estimates of the correct values.

Author: Chrisy