In anticipation of the four-day Memorial Day weekend, I mixed up a white wine cooler recipe I found at Whole Foods. All of a sudden party scenes from freshman year at Western Michigan University replayed in my head. In an instant it was 1990 and I was back at my friend Susan’s off-campus apartment sucking Bartel’s and Jaymes through the straw to my water bottle.
Along with sharing good times with fellow aspiring journalists from the campus newspaper, Western Herald, cheap and plentiful drink were the standard those days. Wine coolers fit the bill along with kegs of Milwaukee’s [Beast], Keystone and Natural Light. Rewinds of those raucous nights feature scrambling to escape visits from the cops, playing quarters, and learning an age-old lesson about mixing grain with grapes.
Today, all of these fine creative, journalistic forces are true professionals sharing their many talents with the world.
Classic Cooler Recipe from Whole Foods
1 bottle white wine
1 cup raspberries
1 liter sparkling water
Mix ingredients in your favorite glass carafe or pitcher, add plenty of ice and serve.
Kate Parish 