Erdbeerbowle

Erdbeerbowle belongs to the first proper strawberries, the garden table, the birthday in June, the Sunday afternoon that runs long into evening. Bowle means a wine-and-fruit punch, and this one isn't a cocktail-bar trick. It's ripe berries, sugar, white wine, and Sekt, the German sparkling wine, served cold from a bowl with a ladle.

Every house has its argument. In the north they keep it leaner, dry wine, less sugar, sometimes a splash of mineral water if the day is hot. In the south and west you'll see a sweeter bowl, more fruit, sometimes a little orange liqueur or elderflower syrup from the spring larder. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. I keep the berries in charge.

The technique is simple and it decides the drink: sugar the strawberries first and let them stand until they give juice. The sugar pulls liquid from the fruit, so the wine takes strawberry flavour without you crushing the berries into pulp. Pour wine straight over dry cut fruit and you get floating fruit salad with weak wine underneath. Das braucht seine Zeit, but not much.

Use real ripe berries and real Sekt. Nicht aus dem Glas, and not from a bottle of red syrup. Chill everything before it meets the bowl, add the Sekt last, and stir once with a light hand. Schön ist, was schmeckt.