Freshly Squeezed Oj & Prosecco Recipe

Chill Prosecco

Place the bottle of Prosecco in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving, or chill in an ice bucket for 20–30 minutes until very cold (40–45°F / 4–7°C). Keep the bottle sealed until ready to pour.

When ready to serve, open the Prosecco carefully: hold the bottle at a 45° angle, unwrap foil, loosen the wire cage while keeping a thumb over the cork, and gently twist the bottle (not the cork) to release the cork with a quiet hiss.

Juice the oranges

Roll each orange firmly on the counter to loosen juices, then cut in half crosswise. Use a handheld citrus reamer or electric juicer to extract juice from all 4 oranges into a measuring cup. Strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher to remove pulp if you prefer a smoother drink (optional). You should have approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cups (240–360 ml) of fresh juice depending on orange size.

Sweeten and chill

Taste the juice. If it’s very tart, stir in up to 2 tsp simple syrup per cup of juice (start with 2 tsp total for mild sweetness). Add 1 cup of ice to the pitcher to quickly chill the juice, or refrigerate the strained juice for 30 minutes. If you used ice, strain juice again into the serving pitcher to avoid dilution when mixing with Prosecco.

Assemble the cocktails

Fill 4 chilled flutes or wine glasses about one-third full with chilled fresh orange juice (roughly 1.5–2 oz / 45–60 ml per glass). Slowly top each glass with chilled Prosecco, pouring gently down the side to preserve bubbles, until the glass is nearly full (about 3–4 oz / 90–120 ml Prosecco per glass). Adjust proportions to taste for a drier or fruitier drink.

Garnish

Garnish each glass with an orange slice or twist on the rim and a mint sprig if using. Serve immediately while bubbly.