This light and refreshing white wine spritzer is made with bright lemon juice and basil simple syrup. The ultimate cocktail for happy hour on the deck or backyard entertaining!

As a food writer, I am always finding inspiration for my cocktail recipes. Whether it’s traveling to a new city, dining in a trendy restaurant or having drinks at a new bar, I find inspiration everywhere I go. Inevitably, I always find myself gravitating towards cocktails that are light, refreshing and effervescent.
One of my go-to recipes lately is my lemon basil white wine spritzer. If you’re wanting to try a new, refreshing drink, I’ve got you covered.

You can prepare white wine spritzers in a few different ways. If you’re hosting a large number of guests, use a pitcher and mix the ingredients to create a batch. If you’re serving a few people, you may want to serve by the glass.
Creating the Basil Simple Syrup
First, place the sugar and water in a small pot and bring them to a boil. Second, remove the pot from the heat until sugar dissolves. Next, add basil and let it cool to room temperature. Remove the basil leaves before you serve the syrup.

Serving Lemon Basil White Wine Spritzers by the Glass
First, if you want to add optional garnishes, prep the basil leaves. Basil is a beautiful, deep green color and has an appealing, herbaceous flavor.

Second, add the basil to each glass. Feel free to get creative with this recipe — I love to add fun, bright straws to spritzers!

As a third (and optional) step, add lemon garnish for additional flavor. The combination of yellow and green colors pair well together (and who doesn’t love to sip a beautiful drink?!)

Next, fill each glass with ice. Remember, a spritzer tastes best when it’s really cold, so make sure you’re generous with the ice!

After you drop in the ice, pour in your white wine of choice. For a standard wine glass, you will fill almost half of the cup.

Finally, top each glass with club soda to amp up the fizz. You can use any flavor you want. I prefer the lemon flavor, but you can also opt for a plain flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions
Do wine spritzers contain less alcohol than most cocktails?
Yes. If you’re wanting a low-alcohol drink, this is a great choice.
What’s the best white wine to pair with a spritzer?
I recommend Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. A fruity, aromatic white wine works best.
Can you substitute the sparkling water with club soda?
Of course! You could also use sprite or another fizzy drink.

Did you make this drink? If so, I’d love to see it — tag @thelemonbowl on Instagram to be featured! And while you’re here, you may also want to try these recipes:
- Orange Ginger Spritzer
- Homemade Blueberry Vodka Lemonade
- Strawberry Moscow Mule Cocktail
- Easy French 75 Cocktail
- Classic Tom Collins Cocktail
- Kir Royale

Cheers, friend! Your straw is waiting.

Lemon Basil White Wine Spritzer
Ingredients
- 1 750 mL chilled, dry white wine (such as pinot grigio)
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 16 ounces sparkling water (any flavor such as lemon or plain)
- lemon wheels and basil leaves (optional garnish)
Basil Simple Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup basil (about 10 sprigs)
Instructions
- To make the basil simple syrup, place the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Add basil and let cool to room temperature. Remove basil leaves before using. Place in refrigerator until you're ready to use.
- When you're ready to prepare the white wine spritzers, fill a large pitcher with chilled white wine, lemon juice, sparkling water and cooled simple syrup. Pour over wine glasses filled with ice to serve. Garnish with lemon wheels if you wish.
Um, this was AMAZING. I made it in a pitcher, popped it in the fridge, and then poured over ice-filled plastic wine glasses and garnished with more fresh basil and lemon wheels and served it up with our 4th of July family dinner. Everyone loved it, and one person who tried it said it was possibly the best drink they’d ever had. Will be making again and again. It’s incredibly easy if you make the syrup ahead of time, and it looks hella impressive to serve! A+.
Oh my goodness Clare thank you SO much !!! I truly appreciate this and am so happy you enjoyed it!!! Happy July!!! Let me know if you try any other recipes of mine!! If you haven’t already eb sure to subscribe to my newsletter! :) https://thelemonbowl.com/subscribe/
Hi Liz, this is a wonderful and refreshing cocktail, the syrup is in my fridge! You do have pinot noir listed as one of the suggested wines to use. Might want to edit that. :)
Oh yes thank you so much for that tip on the wine. I will revise. ;) Thank you and ENJOY!!