Spiced Pear Bellini Recipe for Winter Parties

This Spiced Pear Bellini recipe is the perfect sparkling wine cocktail for all your holiday parties.

With cinnamon and cardamom, it’s full of seasonal flavors and it feels festive and elegant. But it couldn’t be easier to make!

This is one of my favorite wine cocktails to make when having company over.

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A Holiday Bellini

This pear based cocktail is perfect for all your winter celebrating needs.

It makes enough to easily serve a crowd and can be made ahead of time which will leave you more time to enjoy with your guests.

This is my favorite thing to drink on New Year’s Eve!

The bubbles from the wine and the flavors of the infused pear juice make this 4 ingredient cocktail just right for this time of year!

What’s the Difference Between Bellinis and Mimosas?

Both cocktails use sparkling wine (which include champange, cava, prosecco). So they’re both awesome. 

A traditional mimosa is champagne with orange juice. A bellini is made with peach nectar.

While this may be how both of these drinks began, these two terms are pretty much interchangeable at this point. 

For me, I typically consider any juice mixed with sparkling wine as a mimosa.

And I consider any pureed fruit and sparkling wine as a bellini.

But in legit cocktail circles, you may get laughed at if you use this designation so don’t say I didn’t warn you! 

Since a bellini recipe is basically as easy as adding sparkling wine to a glass along with some nectar, the real recipe is for the spiced pear juice.

Now, I know I said above that I think using nectar makes it a bellini. And then I go and tell you how to add spices to pear juice.

But here’s the thing. Pear juice is thicker than traditional juice. To me, it’s closer to a nectar. Do with that what you will…

When using sparkling wine in cocktails, you can get away with using something less expensive. But you should always use something that you wouldn’t mind the flavor of on its own.

You’ll be able to get at least 5 glasses of champagne from one bottle. So purchase as many bottles as you think you’ll need.

You can easily make less of the pear nectar if you aren’t having a huge party. BUT, the pear juice is delicious and can be drunk on its own. It’s a great option to serve to the kids!

The spiced pear nectar will be enough to make close to 30 servings, depending on how much nectar each person uses.

You can easily make a smaller batch of juice if you aren’t planning on serving a large crowd.

But since the infused juice is non-alcoholic, you can also serve it to kids with a little sparkling apple cider or sprite. (You can make non-alcoholic mimosas also. See how I set up a bar for Non-Alcoholic Mimosas for a Mother’s Day brunch).

How to Make a Spiced Pear Bellini

Making store-bought juice perfect for winter cocktails in as easy as infusing it with spices.

Gather the cinnamon sticks, pear juice/nectar, ground cardamom and sugar (if you like things really sweet).

The cinnamon will add a nice flavor to the juice if you just pop them into the pan, but I prefer to break them open to really release the flavors.

Place the cinnamon flat on a cutting board with the rolled side down.

With the flat side of a Chef’s knife, press down to break the sticks or give it a swift whack with the heel of your hand, taking care to hold the knife still with your left hand, while making sure you strike near the top of the knife and not the blade.

To a saucepan, add the broken cinnamon, cardamom, and sugar.

Then add the pear nectar.

Of course, these yummy pear bellinis would still be tasty using plain pear juice, but don’t be lazy. The spices make it AMAZING! It’s really extra special.

I prefer to make this without the sugar since I don’t like sweet drinks. But I do recognize that a little sweetener sometimes helps to balance flavors. It will not ruin the recipe ether way.

It is possible to get a spiced pear flavor in cocktails without taking the time to infuse it. But it works best for making single servings of cocktails like these Spiced Pear Moscow Mules.

Heat the juice on high heat until boiling. Then turn off heat and cover before letting it sit for at least an hour.

Because of the sugars in the juice, it will simmer down and concentrate a little bit.

Strain out the large pieces of cinnamon as you pour into a pitcher or other large container to cool.

If you are really a stickler and don’t want any spice particles, you can strain it through a few layers of cheesecloth, but you probably won’t need to.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

It must be cooled completely before making the cocktails. The idea of warm champagne seems really disgusting to me.

To serve a bellini, pour about an ounce of the pear juice into a glass, then top with sparkling wine.

So easy. Then you’re ready to party. 

Bellinis are a great way to get even more glasses out of a bottle of sparkling wine. Since you are adding a bit of juice or nectar, you’ll use less wine.

It’s a good way to stretch your dollar when hosting a crowd.

The spiced pear juice is crazy tasty. And if you store it in an air-tight container, it will last for quite about a week in the fridge. 

This pear Bellini recipe is the perfect party drink. It’s unexpected and delicious and who doesn’t love when you bring out the bubbly?

Every time I have made this drink, people have asked me for the recipe. It feels special but really doesn’t take much effort. 

You are going to LOVE this winter cocktail!

This cocktail recipe is from one of my fave artists/chefs/entertainers ever, Jennifer Rubell. If you don’t have it, go buy her Real Life Entertaining.

More cocktail recipes to try:

• Iced Tea Sangria
• Best Ever Champagne Punch
• Kombucha Mimosa

Make this Spiced Pear Bellini for your next party! It’s perfect for a crowd! Pin it to save for later!