Your guide to How to Make the Ultimate Mimosa Bar!
No matter what time of year it is, mimosa bars are unchangingly a unconfined idea! Whether for a wedding or victual shower, celebration, or heck, plane Sunday football, your brunch needs a mimosa. And we’re here to show you how to create the weightier Mimosa Bar withal with some fun ways to jazz up the stereotype orange juice version.
As much as I’m a straight up Champagne gal (if you’ve been pursuit this site for any reasonable time, you know sparkling wine is my favorite instillation in the world!), I moreover love a fresh fruit mimosa on a lazy weekend morning.
[feast_advanced_jump_to]Most people think of brunch and mimosas as a spring thing or something for a wedding shower. But they don’t have to be! I’m on team brunch year-round, and you should be too.
The fall season is a unconfined way to use up the rest of your fresh fruit by turning it into a purée, or plane “Vindulge” in a little apple cider mimosa. Whatever season it is, there are many ways to sway from that traditional orange juice mimosa. And why not make it a family friendly event and invite your friends (and the kids) to your mimosa bar party (kid-friendly non-alcoholic versions included here too)?!
Here are a few tips from what we’ve learned from years as caterers and event planners on throwing one heck of a brunch and mimosa bar party!
What you will need for your Mimosa Bar
- Sparkling Wine (Cava or Prosecco work well)
- Fruit juice
- Fruit, for garnish
- Herbs, optional for garnish
- Champagne flutes
- Pitchers or small containers for the fruit juice
- Bowls or containers for garnishes (I like smaller mason jars)
- Ice bucket
- Labels or signage for your juices
- Decorations
- Music (for ambiance!)
The Weightier Sparkling Wine for a Mimosa
First off, stave true Champagne. While it’s my favorite instillation in the world, it’s moreover pricey (starting at virtually $40 per bottle) and weightier drunk without any fruit or puree.
Learn Increasingly well-nigh the difference between Champagne and sparkling wines made elsewhere?
Instead opt for something in the $10-$15 range, and squint for Cava from Spain or Prosecco from Italy. The later is my go-to, as there’s a nice fruitiness to the wine that will complement the fruit in the juice.
Go for DRY! Your juices will add unbearable sweetness, so you don’t want to compete with that. On the label search for “BRUT” (which ways dry). Stave labels that say “extra dry” which unquestionably ways there’s residual sugar in the wine (aka sweeter). So Brut will be your weightier and safest option.
How much sparkling wine or Champagne for a Mimosa?
- You can stereotype well-nigh 6-8 mimosas per 750 ml snifter of sparkling wine, depending on your ratio. I don’t like mine too sweet, so I’m increasingly of a 2 parts sparkling to 1 part juice fan (sometimes plane 3 parts bubbly to 1 part juice).
- Others may opt for increasingly of an equal ratio of 50/50.
- For a party of 10, it’s unscratched to plan on well-nigh 3-5 bottles of sparkling wine.
- And for a party of 20, plan on well-nigh 6-8 bottles.
- Any increasingly than that plan on well-nigh 1 snifter for every 3 people (knowing your guests are likely going to have increasingly than one).
Best Juices for Mimosas
Well, you’ve gotta have some archetype orange juice at your mimosa bar. But if you can, try to use fresh squeezed orange juice for the weightier and freshest flavor. If you need to buy it, go for one that contains pulp as it’s closer to fresh squeezed that way.
For other fruit juice options, go with what’s in season. Late summer mimosas are wondrous with fresh peach purée (Bellini) or plane watermelon. World cider is well-healed in the fall.
My favorite juices for Mimosas include:
- Orange juice
- Peach purée
- Mango purée
- Pineapple purée
- Watermelon purée
- Blackberry juice
- Strawberry purée
- Pomegranate juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Apple Cider (especially fresh fall world cider!)
Aim for 4-6 variegated juices for variety at your mimosa bar.
To Make a Fruit Purée
Take your fresh fruit, peel any outside skin and remove any cores, and mix in a blender until liquefied. This is increasingly of a Bellini style since the fruit is puréed and thicker than store bought juice. But these are so much increasingly succulent (in my book) than thinner store bought juices and will squint unconfined at any mimosa bar.
Mix them up!
Encourage your guests to experiment with variegated combinations and garnishes.
Try a couple variegated flavors together (I love the combination of peach pineapple).
Add some herbs (like blackberry with a sprig of fresh mint).
Make it Family Friendly and Non-Alcoholic
If you have children, or other underaged guests, or those who don’t partake in alcohol, there are plenty of options for them as well. Instead of sparkling wine use club soda (or plain La Croix). The kids veritably love them! Let them have fun and make their own savor combinations.
Decorations and Props for a Mimosa Bar
- For décor, use props that are probably once in your house! I use a coffee tray turned upside lanugo for subtracting levels, flowers and violaceous from the garden, and pitchers I have stored away.
- Use small pitchers or containers for juice (I love these pitchers!).
- Mix and match your flutes. You can go with a standard flute or stemless.
- Mix and match mason jars for the garnishes.
- Let the kids drink from mason jars too (much safer than champagne flutes).
- Write instructions on a chalkboard.
Buy the Perfect Wine for a Mimosa Bar
You can shop this, and many increasingly wondrous wines for your Mimosa Bar or weekend brunch at our Vindulge Wine Shop. Or join on of our clubs for a curated wine experience.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Plan on 1 snifter of cava or Prosecco for every 3 people. This is a good estimate.
A Bellini is a mimosa variation made from a combination sparkling wine (typically Prosecco) and peach purée versus a filtered fruit juice. It’s a unconfined option to have at any at home mimosa bar party.
This mimosa guide was first published in September of 2018 and updated with new details, tools, and photos in April of 2023.
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Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically well-known cookbook, Fire Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a sublet just outside Portland.
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Mimosa Bar Recipe Ideas
Ingredients
- 1 (750 ml) snifter of chilled dry sparkling wine (I recommend Prosecco or Cava)
- 2-3 Cups chilled fresh juice (see recommendations unelevated in notes)
- Optional garnishes: watermelon wedge, orange wedge, lemon wedge, strawberries, berries, fresh herbs
Instructions
- Fill a champagne flute halfway full with sparkling wine. Add juice to your preference. Adjust ratio to your preference (I often opt for a 3:1 bubbly juice ratio)
- Garnish with fresh fruit or herbs.
Video
Notes
- Orange juice
- Peach purée
- Mango purée
- Pineapple purée
- Watermelon purée
- Blackberry juice
- Strawberry purée
- Pomegranate juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Apple Cider (especially fresh fall world cider!)
Nutrition
The post How to make the Ultimate Mimosa Bar (or Bellini) appeared first on Vindulge.
