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The first of three new SpritZZer wine cocktails, to be released shortly, was bottled at the Delicata winery earlier this week.

The rosé SpritZZer is made from a refreshing blend of rosé wine and lemonade, and the alcohol content has been lowered to only 3.9 per cent from five per cent.

Delicata’s range of original spritzers were released in December 1997 but, some 15 years on, the company thought these popular wine-based cocktails deserved a well-earned upgrade and makeover.

A Delicata spokesman said: “These wine-based drinks play an important part in our overall wine portfolio. Mixing wine and lemonade has been common practice in Malta long before wine coolers became all the rage in trendy wine bars in California, London and New York in the 1980s and 1990s.

“They offer people who are wishing to lower their alcohol intake an alternative to other more alcoholic beverages and they are particularly suitable to the Maltese weather and lifestyle.

“Drinking really high alcoholic beverages under a hot sun is not advisable but these wine SpritZZers at only 3.9 per cent alcohol, contain two-thirds less alcohol than an average bottle of wine. That in itself makes these semi-sparkling, medium wine coolers very fruity, light and refreshing. Chilled, they make the perfect party wine to enjoy by the pool, on the beach or at a barbecue,” he concluded.

The remaining two red and white SpritZZers will be released in the coming weeks.

All three coolers are semi-sparkling, medium in style and closed with a convenient screw cap.