God Bless Boozy Wine Slushes, the Stupid-Easy Drink of the Summer

You pay your own bills and you actually have a thing called a 401K, so now it's time to command the blended beverage game. 

While dumping cheap vodka in a 7-Eleven Slurpee may have gotten you through your adolescence, mastering the art of the wine slush is a rite of passage: The drink combines the benefits of booze with that icy, childhood favorite to create a refreshing — and grown-up — beverage.

Best thing about wine slushes? They are stupid-easy to make. 

Here's what you'll need:

You will need wine, ice, your fruit of choice and possibly a sweetener. Dump it all in a blender and voila! You're classy drunk. 

Wine slushes are ligher and less filling than other creamy frozen drinks like daiquiris and piña coladas. And unlike pre-made margarita mix, you'll know exactly what you are putting into the drink, making the wine slushes healthier (which means you can drink more of them ... probably, maybe). 

Wine slushes are great for easy summertime solo drinking but also a great way to keep costs low and your guests happy at a party, Roxanne Spruance, the chef and owner of Kingsley in New York City, said over the phone. She said that the key to making a good wine slush is knowing what wine to use, which flavors work together and to "have fun." 

So do you need fancy wine?

Spruance offered up a firm "no" for this one. It's pointless to purchase an expensive bottle because it will be doctored up anyways. "You can buy a $5 bottle of wine or Trader Joe's famed Two Buck Chuck and still make it taste really good," she said. Save the $60 bottle of wine for the next time you want to impress a Tinder date. (Actually, don't. Save that for yourself.)

What wine should you get?

While the cost of the bottle is unimportant, it's best to avoid wines that are super dry and heavy on tannins, said Spruance. Avoid wines like Malbecs, Cabernet Francs and "big oaky" chardonnays. "These wines just wouldn't taste good with fruits and juices added to them," she said.

Instead, Spruance said you should look for bright, fruity wines like rosés and whites such as rieslings, Vinho Verdes, sauvignon blancs and Sarmientos. Many red wines can also work well in slushes, like Pinot Noirs and Riojas. 

As for champagne and other bubbly wines, Spruance said avoid them altogether. There is no point in freezing something with bubbles in it because it will just go away.

What should you blend with the wine?

That depends on the wine itself, but fruits tend to work well. If they are super-ripe, Spruance said there's no need to add a sweetener. But if the fruit's on the tart side, you can blend in simple syrup or St. Germain, a sweetened, Elderflower liqueur.  

Some fruit pairings that work below: 

Reds

White

Pink

Should you put wine in the fridge?

Everything that is going in the slush should be made "as cold as possible," Spruance said. Yes, even the red wine. "It will stop the drink from from melting as quick," she said.

Soooo ... are there any recipes you can try?

You bet. Here are eight great ones. Happy drinking!