Peach Bellini Mocktail

Before you start

A Bellini pairs white peach purée with dry Italian sparkling wine. It is softer and more fragrant than a mimosa, and its pale coral color comes from ripe white peaches blended with their skins. For the alcohol-free version, keep the homemade purée and swap the wine for a dry non-alcoholic sparkling wine, or for sparkling water lifted with a little white grape juice and lemon.

The purée is the whole drink, so peach ripeness matters. Use peaches that smell sweet and give slightly when pressed. A few drops of lemon in the blender stop the purée turning brown, and a short chill lets it thicken so it mixes smoothly instead of sinking.

Ingredients

• Peach purée2 large (about 350 g) ripe white peaches — yellow peaches work but give a deeper color
• 10 ml (2 tsp) fresh lemon juice
• 10 to 20 ml (2 to 4 tsp) simple syrup (1:1) — only if the peaches are not very sweet
• To serveAbout 400 ml (13½ oz) dry non-alcoholic sparkling wine — well chilled; about 100 ml per glass
• 4 thin slices peach — optional garnish

Method

1. Halve and pit the peaches. Leave the skins on for color, cut into chunks and add to the blender with the lemon juice.
2. Blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. Taste and blend in simple syrup 5 ml at a time only if the purée is tart.
3. Press the purée through a fine strainer with a spatula to remove skin fibers. You should have about 200 ml.
4. Cover and refrigerate the purée for at least 30 minutes, until cold.
5. Spoon or pour 50 ml of purée into each chilled flute.
6. Tilt the glass and pour the sparkling base very slowly down the side, pausing as it foams, until the flute is full. Stir once with a bar spoon and garnish with a peach slice.

Tips for success

• Pour the purée first and the sparkling base on top. The purée is thick, so adding it last makes it sink and foam.
• Out of season, use thawed frozen peach slices. They are picked ripe and often taste better than hard winter fruit.
• Keep everything very cold. The purée will thin slightly as it mixes, and warm purée makes the bubbles collapse.

Substitutions

Fresh peaches

Use 200 ml good-quality peach nectar. It is sweeter and thinner, so skip the syrup and add an extra squeeze of lemon.

Non-alcoholic sparkling wine

Mix 320 ml sparkling water with 80 ml white grape juice and a little lemon. It is less complex but stays dry and fresh.

White peaches

Nectarines or apricots make good stand-ins. Apricots are tarter and may need a little extra syrup.

Variations

Raspberry Bellini

Blend 4 raspberries into the peach purée for a pinker color and a sharper, berry finish.

Peach-ginger Bellini

Top with dry ginger ale instead of sparkling wine for a spicier drink.

Troubleshooting

The purée turned brown

Peaches oxidize quickly. Add the lemon juice while blending, cover the purée tightly and use it within a day.

The drink foams over

Pour the sparkling base slowly down the side of a tilted glass and pause to let the foam settle before topping off.

The purée sinks to the bottom

It was not stirred. Give one gentle stir after pouring, or pour from a little height so the sparkling base mixes in.

Storage

Fresh peach purée keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; it may darken a little. Freeze purée in ice cube trays for up to 3 months. Serve drinks immediately after pouring.