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These Champagne grapes are grown-up candy. When you bite into one and the inside is like a soft, sweet, boozy sorbet. These bites are great for the holidays, birthdays, or just a hot day by the pool.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love
The Taste: These are an adults-only treat, sweet like candy and deliciously boozy from the champagne and gin. The middle is cold, juicy and creamy, like a sorbet.
Easy to Make: No stove or oven, just a soak, freeze, and sprinkle. And they need to be made ahead so you’re not scrambling last minute to put these together either.
Perfect for Any Occasion: The gold makes these so festive. I love making them for the holidays, especially New Years where you’re popping champagne bottles and they fit right in. But you can also make these without the gold with ingredients you have in your pantry. They really work for any occasion.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Green grapes: Seedless green grapes are my top choice for this recipe. Red grapes work too, but they’re a little sweeter. Whatever you choose, make sure you are using firm grapes and remove any that are soft or overripe.
Champagne or Prosecco: This is up to preference. Champagne is dry and crisp, prosecco is sweeter. Any dry sparkling wine is fine, just make sure it’s not too sweet. Between the grapes, honey and sugar you don’t want to overdo it.
Gin: I love how the gin gives it a clean botanical flavor, but if you aren’t a fan you can use vodka and omit completely.
Sweetener: I use a monk fruit that isn’t sold in the US yet, but any granulated sweetener or plain sugar works, so pick your fav.
Edible gold: Completely optional and just for looks. I use gold brew glitter. Leave it out and the grapes taste exactly the same.
Non-Alcoholic Version
Want to skip the alcohol, just swap the champagne and gin for a sparkling juice or soda. You can use sparkling grape juice, sparkling cider, or a lemon-lime soda. That way anyone that wants to enjoy the creamy bite without the alcohol has their own batch.
Make-Ahead and Storage
You can make these start to finish and keep them in the freezer until you’re ready. Soak the grapes anywhere from 6 to 24 hours, and the longer they sit, the boozier they get.
They also freeze without turning into rocks. Grapes are high in sugar and low in water, so on their own they never freeze into hard ice. The sugar coating and the alcohol push that further, so they stay soft enough to bite straight from the freezer, no thawing needed.
Keep them in an airtight container. Soaked grapes hold in the fridge for about a day before you coat and freeze them. Frozen and finished, they keep for up to a month, and they look and taste best in the first few days.
Ways to Use the Left-Over Champagne
When you drain the champagne/gin use it for soaking more grapes or make a nice spritz!
We don’t waste the champagne on this page! When you strain the grapes, that champagne and gin is now grape soaked, and it’s too good to lose. You can reuse it to soak more grapes or make a drink out of it. Pour it over ice and top with club soda for a quick spritz. It tastes great stirred into any cocktail that you would use sparkling wine in.
More Boozy Treats
French 75 Grapes: Soaked in gin, lemon juice, and champagne with a lemon zest sugar coating.
Tajin Tequila Strawberries: Soaked in tequila reposado and then dipped in a chamoy honey. Then rolled in tajin sugar.
Tajin Tequila Grapes: Aka Mexican Candy Tequila Grapes. These are soaked in tequila, then coated in chamoy and tajin sugar.
Prosecco Strawberries: This one is super simple. Just soak in prosecco and roll in sugar.
Bourbon Tipsy Grapes: Soak your grapes in bourbon. Coat in honey and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Appetizers
French 75 Grapes
Cocktails
Prosecco Strawberries
Appetizers
Tequila Grapes
Appetizers
Tequila Strawberries
Appetizers
Tipsy Grapes
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. Between the grapes’ natural sugar, the sugar coating, and the alcohol, they never freeze rock-hard. So, no need to thaw, you can serve them straight from the freezer.
Yes. Swap the champagne and gin for sparkling grape juice, sparkling cider, or a lemon-lime soda. Same method, no booze.
I use Gold Brew Glitter that I get from Amazon.
Yes. Strawberries and other firm fruit work with the same poke, soak and coat method.
Prosecco, any dry sparkling wine, or tequila or mezcal for a different direction.
Equipment
- small knife or toothpick
- Mixing bowl
- freezer-safe tray or container
- cocktail skewers
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 cups green grapes
- champagne or prosecco, enough to submerge the grapes
- 2 shots gin or vodka
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- honey, to taste
- edible gold, to taste
- monk fruit or sweetener of choice, for coating
Instructions
- Prep the Grapes: Wash the grapes and poke each one a few times with a toothpick so they absorb the alcohol.2 to 3 cups green grapes
- Soak: Submerge the grapes in the champagne and gin. Cover and refrigerate 6 to 24 hours.champagne or prosecco, 2 shots gin or vodka
- Coat: Drain the grapes, reserving the liquid for another use. Add the grapes to a bowl with the lemon juice, honey, and a little edible gold. Toss to coat.1/2 lemon, honey, edible gold
- Freeze: Freeze the coated grapes 2 to 3 hours.
- Gold Sugar: Mix together the sweetener with as much edible gold as you would like.monk fruit or sweetener of choice, edible gold
- Finish: Sprinkle or roll the frozen grapes in the gold sugar, then thread onto skewers.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love all your recipes. I have a question about the Champagne Grapes. For the step we add to a bowl with 1/2 the lemon (squeezed) and as much honey as you want and a touch of edible gold. Mix it well and Freeze for 2-3 hours – what do you do with this mixture? The next line is to coat grapes with sugar and gold dust so I’m not clear as to what do with the previous mixture? Also, do I freeze the grapes prior to rolling in the sugar?
Hey Silvia! After the grapes are done soaking in the fridge, you drain them and mix in the lemon honey mixture, then put them in the freezer for a couple of hours. After that you coat them in the sugar and gold. I updated the entire recipe to make sure it’s more clear. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!