You’ve probably heard of ice wine–a dessert wine made from grapes that have been frozen on the vine which concentrates their sugars. But wine ice? It’s a thing in Querétaro, Mexico and anything with wine in it is worth a try and a few pesos.

Neveria Italy in Querétaro, Mexico

Neveria Italy in Querétaro, Mexico has been in business since 1940 and is the home of Nieve de Limon con Vino Tinto.

Tasting wine ice

We were tipped off about wine ice in Querétaro by a friend in Mexico City who described it as a local concoction of homemade lemon ice drowned in red wine and available at an ice-cream shop called Neveria Italy.

We were skeptical. The whole thing sounded like a slushy version of the neon pink wine coolers the cheerleaders used to drink through straws in high school. We became even more skeptical as we watched the guy behind the counter at Neveria Italy plop a scoop of pale lemon ice into the bottom of a plastic cup then fill the cup from a jug of cheap Mexican red wine sitting by the cash register.

But then we tasted it, and, yum! The lemon ice gives a summertime pop to the rich red wine that lightens and brightens the whole thing up but not in a bubble-gummy (or cheerleader-y) way. Somehow, the combination improves both ingredients and melds them into a drink so tasty we got brain freeze from sipping it so fast.

Here’s more about travel in Mexico

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