Best Prosecco Cocktails — 8 Recipes to Make at Home
Prosecco is Italian sparkling wine made from Glera grapes in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions. It's lighter and less yeasty than Champagne, with fresh apple, pear and peach notes that make it one of the most versatile cocktail bases.
For cocktails, always use Brut (dry) Prosecco — the Extra Dry designation is paradoxically slightly sweeter and less ideal for mixing. Price matters less here than in still wine; a £8–£12 Brut Prosecco performs as well as a £20 bottle once mixed.
Here are eight Prosecco cocktails from the iconic to the underrated.
2.Pour in the Prosecco first — this preserves the bubbles.
3.Add the Aperol.
4.Top with a small splash of soda water.
5.Garnish with a fresh orange slice.
Tip: The 3-2-1 rule: three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, one part soda. This is Italy's best-selling cocktail. Always Brut Prosecco. The order of addition matters — Prosecco first prevents the Aperol from killing the bubbles prematurely.
2
Bellini
Easy
Glass: Champagne flute
Ingredients
100ml Prosecco
50ml white peach purée or nectar
ice (optional)
Method
1.Add the peach purée to the bottom of a chilled flute.
2.Slowly pour the Prosecco on top.
3.Stir very gently once.
4.Serve without ice to keep the bubbles.
Tip: The original Harry's Bar recipe from Venice uses fresh white peach purée in season (August–September). Out of season, a good quality peach nectar (Looza or Boiron) works well. Yellow peaches produce a less refined result. Never shake — the carbonation will be ruined.
3
Kir Royale
Easy
Glass: Champagne flute
Ingredients
120ml Prosecco
15ml crème de cassis
ice (optional)
Method
1.Pour the Prosecco into a chilled flute.
2.Drizzle the crème de cassis slowly down the side of the glass.
3.The cassis will bloom upward through the Prosecco — do not stir.
Tip: The Kir Royale uses Champagne traditionally; Prosecco makes it more approachable and affordable. Add the cassis last — the bloom effect is beautiful. Liqueur de violette instead of cassis makes a Kir Royale Violette. Adjust the cassis quantity to taste; 15ml is a starting point.
4
French 75
Easy
Glass: Champagne flute or coupe
Ingredients
30ml gin (or cognac for the original)
15ml fresh lemon juice
10ml simple syrup
90ml Prosecco
ice
lemon twist to garnish
Method
1.Add gin, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.
2.Shake for 10 seconds.
3.Strain into a chilled flute.
4.Top with Prosecco — pour slowly.
5.Garnish with a lemon twist.
Tip: The cognac version (the original from Paris in 1915) is rounder and more elegant; gin makes it brighter and more botanical. Both are delicious. A good aperitif or celebration drink — the base can be made in advance and Prosecco added per glass.
5
Hugo Spritz
Easy
Glass: Wine glass
Ingredients
100ml Prosecco
30ml elderflower cordial (or St-Germain)
30ml soda water
5 mint leaves
ice
lime slice and mint sprig to garnish
Method
1.Fill a wine glass with ice.
2.Add the elderflower cordial.
3.Pour in the Prosecco.
4.Add the mint leaves and top with soda water.
5.Stir very gently.
6.Garnish with a lime slice and mint sprig.
Tip: The Hugo is Austria's answer to the Aperol Spritz — floral, light and refreshing. It's taken off in Germany and the UK. St-Germain elderflower liqueur makes a more complex version; cordial (Belvoir or Bottle Green) is more economical. Slap the mint before adding to release the oils.
6
Limoncello Spritz
Easy
Glass: Wine glass or highball
Ingredients
90ml Prosecco
40ml limoncello
30ml soda water
ice
lemon slice and basil leaf to garnish
Method
1.Fill a wine glass with ice.
2.Pour in the Prosecco.
3.Add limoncello.
4.Top with soda water and stir very gently.
5.Garnish with a lemon slice and a basil leaf.
Tip: Brighter and more citrus-forward than an Aperol Spritz. Use a good Italian limoncello — Pallini or Villa Massa are both well-made. The basil garnish adds a herbal note that complements the lemon. This is also excellent with a splash of fresh lemon juice.
7
Rossini
Easy
Glass: Champagne flute
Ingredients
100ml Prosecco
50ml fresh strawberry purée
Method
1.Blend fresh strawberries with a small amount of lemon juice until smooth.
2.Strain to remove seeds.
3.Add the purée to the bottom of a chilled flute.
4.Pour Prosecco gently on top.
5.Do not stir — let the natural mixing happen.
Tip: A Bellini made with strawberry instead of peach. Use in-season British strawberries (June–August) for the best flavour. Add a tiny squeeze of lemon to prevent the strawberry from oxidising and keep it vibrant red. Works beautifully with frozen strawberry if fresh aren't available.
8
Venetian Sunset
Easy
Glass: Wine glass
Ingredients
60ml Prosecco
50ml Aperol
100ml blood orange juice
ice
orange slice to garnish
Method
1.Fill a wine glass with ice.
2.Pour in the blood orange juice first.
3.Add the Aperol.
4.Top gently with Prosecco.
5.Do not stir — the layered gradient is the effect.
6.Garnish with an orange slice.
Tip: Blood orange juice is seasonal (November–April in the UK) but when available makes this drink strikingly beautiful. Out of season, use freshly squeezed regular orange juice. Fresh juice always; carton juice is too sweet and too flat.
Buying Prosecco in the UK
For Spritzes and Bellinis, any Brut Prosecco in the £8–£15 range works perfectly — Mionetto, Riondo and Zardetto are reliable. Don't waste premium Prosecco in cocktails where the flavour difference is minimal. For something slightly more special, a Prosecco Superiore DOCG (from the hillside Conegliano-Valdobbiadene zone) has more complexity and works in drinks where Prosecco is the primary ingredient, like a Bellini. Keep Prosecco cold in the fridge and use within 2–3 days of opening.
UK shop picks
Buy Prosecco for these cocktails
Bottles we recommend for the recipes above — shipped from UK retailers. Affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What is the difference between Brut, Extra Dry and Dry Prosecco?
"Brut" means the least sweet (under 12g sugar per litre). Paradoxically, "Extra Dry" is slightly sweeter (12–17g per litre) and "Dry" is sweeter still (17–32g per litre). For cocktails, Brut is almost always the right choice — the other styles are designed for drinking without food pairings and add unwanted sweetness to mixed drinks.
Can I use Cava or Champagne instead of Prosecco in cocktails?
Yes. Cava (Spanish sparkling) is a direct substitute and often better value. Champagne works too but the yeasty complexity can be lost in mixed drinks; it's generally a waste unless the recipe specifically calls for it. Crémant (French sparkling wine made outside Champagne) is an excellent affordable alternative with more character than basic Prosecco.
How do I keep Prosecco fizzy after opening?
A proper champagne stopper (the clamp-style ones with wings) keeps Prosecco acceptably fizzy for 24–48 hours in the fridge. The commonly repeated trick of leaving a spoon in the bottle does not work — it's a myth. For cocktail purposes, keep opened Prosecco very cold and use within a day.
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