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Ingredients
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Mimosa Base
Garnishes & Service
Method
Prepare Fresh Orange Juice
- 1
Choose and chill oranges
Select 12–16 ripe oranges (about 6 cups of juice). Chill the oranges in the refrigerator for 30 minutes if you prefer a colder juice; cold juice helps maintain bubbles in the sparkling wine.
- 2
Juice and strain
Cut each orange in half and juice using a citrus press or reamer until you have about 6 cups of juice. Pour the juice through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or pitcher to remove pulp and seeds, pressing gently with a spoon to extract extra liquid. Discard solids.
- 3
Taste and sweeten (optional)
Taste the strained juice. If the oranges are tart and you prefer a sweeter mimosa, dissolve up to 1/4 cup simple syrup into the juice and stir. If using Triple Sec for extra orange complexity, stir in 1/2 cup now. Chill the juice briefly if necessary — do not over-chill to the point of freezing.
Assemble and Serve
- 4
Chill cava and glasses
Place the bottle of cava in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving, or in an ice bucket for 20–30 minutes. Chill champagne flutes briefly in the fridge or by filling them with ice water for a few minutes, then discard the ice water before pouring.
- 5
Decant and open cava
Ten minutes before serving, remove cava from ice. Hold the bottle at a 45° angle, grip the cork and wire cage securely, loosen the cage, and gently twist the bottle (not the cork) to ease the cork out quietly. Keep the bottle tilted slightly to preserve carbonation.
- 6
Build the mimosas
For classic proportion, pour 1/3 cup (about 2 fl oz / 60 ml) chilled orange juice into each flute, then top slowly with cava to fill (about 4 fl oz / 120 ml), pouring down the side of the glass to preserve bubbles. Adjust ratio to taste (half juice, half cava for fruitier). If using Triple Sec, its flavor is already incorporated into the juice.
- 7
Garnish and finish
Garnish each glass with an orange wheel on the rim, a couple of berries floated on top, and a mint sprig if desired. Serve immediately while the cava is still bubbly.
- 8
Pitcher-style (optional)
To serve a crowd, combine the chilled orange juice (and optional Triple Sec/simple syrup) in a pitcher with 2 cups of ice to keep cold, then pour juice into flutes and top with cava as guests are served. Do not pre-mix cava and juice in the pitcher more than a few minutes before serving to avoid losing bubbles.