Frozen Wine Grapes are the adult treat you never knew you needed. They're sweet, refreshing, and great for snacking on a warm summer day or for late-night snacking!
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Why This Recipe Is Awesome
If you've ever frozen grapes before, then you know the joy of opening the freezer on a 100-degree day to pop a few ice-cold grapes in your mouth. They're basically all-natural freeze pops! But when you add wine, you get an adult version of this classic treat that will have you singing sweet praise! So - the reasons you need to make this:
- Easy and Foolproof: There is nothing complicated about this recipe. Even the most inexperienced cooks can make frozen wine grapes.
- Perfect Party Treat: These frozen wine grapes are a real show-stopper. They're ideal for keeping on ice to snack on before a barbecue. Everyone will be asking how you made them!
- Versatile: Not only are these great for snacking on, but if you leave the sugar off they make great ice cubes for your wine drinks! You can also mix up the type of grapes and the type of wine to really customize to your liking (be sure to check out our favorite variations below!).
- 3 Ingredients: Seriously, how easy is that? Just grab some grapes, wine, and sugar from the store and you're good to go.
Looking for more frozen treats? These are some of our favorite freezer-friendly dessert recipes - chocolate peppermint protein balls or Lemon Meringue Pie with a Biscuit Base (freezes great!).
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Ingredients and Substitutions
All substitutions are a 1:1 substitutes unless otherwise noted.
Seedless Green Grapes: I always like to make my frozen grapes with green grapes because I like the sour punch (like a sour gummy candy).
Substitutions: You can use any kind of grape varieties you like (red grapes, white grapes, etc), just make sure they're seedless. I would recommend sticking with green grapes if you'll be using white wine or rose of any kind (sparkling or not) and matching red grapes with red wine.
White Wine: I always seem to gravitate toward white wines in the summer - they're just so refreshing and light! For green grapes, I tried them with Pinot Grigio and a semi-sweet sparkling white wine. The pinot was good, but the sparkling sweet wine was great!
Substitutions: Feel free to use your favorite kind of wine or juice. With green grapes, the best wine to use is any type of white wine, prosecco, or champagne or a white grape juice. If using red grapes, I recommend using a red wine, dessert wine, purple grape juice, or mixed berry juice.
Monk Fruit Sugar: I like using this monk fruit sweetener from Lankato to coat the grapes because it's a no-calorie sugar substitute.
Substitutions: You can use cane sugar or a stevia sugar replacement instead of monk fruit sweetener. Or, you can leave the sugar off if you plan to use them as ice cubes.
Recipe Testing Notes
Throughout our testing of these frozen wine grapes, we learned some key things that worked and didn't work. Here are the key takeaways!
- Wine takes a while to freeze: Because wine doesn’t freeze as water does, it takes a while for the grapes to freeze. In our experience, we had the best results leaving the grapes to freeze overnight.
- Wine may cause discoloration: After our first test of the grapes, we noticed tasteless brown edges were developing where the stem was attached after being in the freezer for more than two days. Our assumption is that the stem part of the grapes was the last to freeze and therefore was exposed to more oxygen that caused them to continue to ripen in the localized spots. If you want to avoid this, I recommend using red grapes since they won't show brown spots.
How to Make This - Step by Step
Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for the full recipe card and nutritional information.
Step one: Marinate
Remove the grapes from the stem and place them in a freezer-safe container. Pour the wine over the grapes so they're completely covered. For us, this was a whole bottle (minus a glass for myself!).
Step two: Drain and Coat
After the grapes have marinated in the fridge for at least 12 hours (more if you want more wine flavor), drain them. Place the grapes back into the bowl and toss with sugar. Transfer this to the freezer to freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Step three: Enjoy
After they're fully frozen, enjoy the poolside!
Watch How to Make This - Step by Step
Joy Tip!
If you need your grapes to freeze quicker, freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The grapes will freeze faster when placed in a single layer versus stacked. I also like to reserve a small amount of sugar to sprinkle on top as a final sugar coating!
Common Questions
Because of their high sugar content, grapes are somewhat soft when they freeze. They have a texture similar to an apple after being frozen (whether or not they're marinated in wine first). This makes them very pleasant to eat frozen, like an all-natural ice cream or frozen pop!
Yes! Not only are they extra tasty but they will keep good in the freezer for up to 12 months. However, when thawed they don't have a great texture so once frozen they're best eaten frozen or used for cooking if thawed.
Unfortunately, yes they get mushy after being thawed to room temperature. However, when they're out at room temperature they'll stay frozen for a while before becoming mushy (up to 30 minutes).
So this is an interesting question because it doesn't relate to the freezing of the grapes but rather the uses for them after they're frozen. So to answer the question, yes there is a whole type of wine or ice wine production from frozen grapes (also known as ice wine grapes) that is very good. It allows winemakers in northern climates across North America to continue to make wine throughout the winter!
Recipe Variations
Even with only 3 ingredients, these frozen grapes can be made in a variety of ways to meet everyone's tastes. Here are our favorite variations.
- Virgin Frozen Grapes: For these grapes, simply use a non-alcoholic wine or swap the wine for your favorite juice.
- Sour Frozen Grapes: My favorite way to eat these is to toss them in lime juice instead of marinating in wine. You do not need to marinade in lime juice, only toss in it.
Want to Save It For Later? Here's How!
These grapes save great in the freezer! Simply keep them in an air-tight container in the freezer where they can be kept for up to 12 months.
Fun Fact
Ice wine is made from the unique act of harvesting grapes late into autumn to take advantage of sweeter nectar from the grapes. The production of ice wine relies on grapes that naturally freeze on the vine and then are picked when the ambient temperature reaches a certain range in the winter months. These types of wines go back to the 1700s in Germany when local winemakers pressed frozen grapes after mother nature granted them a particularly cold winter. (source)
What Goes Well With Frozen Grapes
Looking for more fun food to bring to that summer cookout? Try these!
- California Avocado Burger - Packed with avocado and chipotle ranch, this is one of my favorite burgers and I love serving them on warm summer nights.
- Steak and Eggs on the Grill - Another great grilled option. This breakfast is ready in 30 minutes and includes a flavor-packed chimichurri sauce.
- Black Raspberry Pie - To finish off dinner, we like to reach for this berry pie. It only requires a few ingredients and always turns out delicious (especially with ice cream!).
Did you try this and love it? Leave us a review, we would love to hear from you!
Recipe
Easy Frozen Wine Grapes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs green grapes
- 1 bottle sparkling white wine (or your favorite white wine)
- 2 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener (or regular white sugar)
Before you start!
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to leave us a review. We love to hear from you!
Instructions
- Please note - this recipe only requires a few minutes to throw together but you do have to wait for the grapes to freeze which takes 12+ hours. Remove the grapes from the stem and place in a freezer safe container. Pour the wine over the grapes so they are completely covered. For us, this was a whole bottle (minus a glass for myself!).2 lbs green grapes, 1 bottle sparkling white wine
- After the grapes have marinated in the fridge for at least 12 hours (more if you want more wine flavor), drain them.
- Place the grapes back into the bowl and toss with sugar. Transfer this to the freezer to freeze for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.2 tablespoon monk fruit sweetener
- After they are fully frozen, enjoy them pool side!
Video
Notes
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Great!!
Liked, with white wine.
Looks great! Could you use white grape juice instead?
I have not tried them yet - was wondering if I could use white grape juice instead of wine. I have had a grape dish with brown sugar and sour cream which was good. I cannot wait to try the frozen grapes.
Yes, you could definitely use white grape juice! I’ll be sure to add it as a substitution option!
Sounds like a great dish - look forward to hearing how it goes!
Very good when you want something cold to refresh your mouth. I used them in smoothies and they tasted great. Instead of white wine I used white grape juice - a wonderful substitution. I would make them again.