How to Make The Best Mimosa

My best tips for making mimosas! What’s better to serve at brunch than a fabulous mimosa recipe made with dry sparkling wine and orange juice? Jump to the Mimosa Recipe or watch our quick video showing you how we make them.

Watch us make the recipe

How to make the best mimosa at home

Mimosas are a delicious combination of sparking wine and orange juice. They are simple, fun and perfect to serve company.

The ingredients

Since there are only a few ingredients required to make mimosa cocktails, I like to make sure they are high in quality. To make mimosas, you will need:

• Sparkling wine
• Orange Juice
• Optional extras like vodka, Grand Marnier, Chambord, and even whiskey

How to choose sparkling wine for mimosas

I like to use a dry sparkling wine, not sweet. Use wine that you like the taste of. You don’t need to break the bank, though. We spend $12 to $15 on the sparkling wine we add to our mimosas.

Your best bet is to look for “Cava,” which comes from Spain or an American sparkling wine that’s around $15. A dry Prosecco is a great option, too. Unless you’ve found something you absolutely love, don’t go lower than $10 as that could lead to headache central.

For the best mimosa, use fresh squeezed orange juice

If you can swing it, use freshly squeezed orange juice. We know it seems a little over the top, but when you consider half of the drink is made from juice, you want the best.

Freshly squeezed orange juice tastes more fresh, lighter, a bit tart and more delicate than anything you can find in the store. With that said, when we’re in a pinch, we’ll use the “Simply” brand of orange juice.

The perfect ratio

A classic mimosa recipe calls for equal parts sparkling wine to orange juice. While we think this ratio tastes the best, if we’re serving a crowd for brunch, we do hold back the wine a little. You can obviously increase the wine, too. Just remember these will pack more of a punch.

When you’re making a mimosa, always add the sparkling wine first, then top with orange juice. This way, the cocktail mixes together on its own and won’t make a sticky mess at the top of the glass. You don’t need to stir as this will cause the wine to become flat.

Making them for a crowd

Since sharing how we make mimosas, many of our readers have asked how to make mimosas for a crowd. You can make mimosas in a pitcher. Premix mimosas in a pitcher just before your guests arrive. Don’t do this too far in advance, because you will lose some carbonation.

Whether you premix or make the mimosas one by one, make sure the wine and orange juice are well chilled. Keep the wine, orange juice, and if you added them to a pitcher, the pitcher in the refrigerator until your guests arrive.

Mimosa variations

The combination of orange juice and sparking wine is amazing, but did you know that there are lots of variations for mimosas? Here are a few of my favorites:

• Add a splash of cranberry, pineapple or pomegranate juice.
• Replace some of the orange juice with blood orange or grapefruit juice.
• Add a tablespoon of peach or strawberry puree to the bottom of each champagne flute.
• Add chopped fresh fruit like strawberries, blueberries and orange slices.
• Add a tablespoon of liqueur like Grand Marnier or Chambord (for a French inspired mimosa).

Non-alcoholic (virgin) mimosas

For a mimosa mocktail, substitute the sparkling wine for a sparkling soda or flavored sparkling water. Non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice is a popular option. I also love flavored carbonated water. There are so many flavors when it comes to sparkling water. Lime or lemon would be lovely or for a tropical feel, try coconut flavored water with a splash of pineapple juice.

More easy cocktail recipes

• How to Make Our Favorite Red Sangria — You will love this classic sangria made with dry red wine, seasonal fruits, and brandy (optional).
• St. Germain and Champagne — Another simple, yet show stopping sparkling wine cocktail.
• Lemon Drop Martinis — We make lemon drops from scratch. Watch our video to see how.
• Champagne Cosmopolitan Cocktails — these combine the classic comso cocktail and sparkling wine.
• How to make a Perfect Kir Royale Cocktail with champagne and Crème de Cassis.

Recipe updated, originally posted December 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne