• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Encharted Cook logo
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Charts
  • The Dish
  • About
×

Home » Recipes » Desserts & Treats Recipes

Red Wine Sauce with Berries

Published: Jul 9, 2018 · Modified: Mar 17, 2022 by Jan Nunes

Skip to Recipe Pin Recipe
Vertical image of a slice of coconut cake topped with red berry sauce. Pinterest Pin #3
Vertical image of a slice of coconut cake topped with red berry sauce. Pinterest Pin #2.
Vertical image of a dessert glass filled with white chocolate pudding and topped with berry sauce. Pinterest PIN #1.
Vertical Image of an ice cream sundae glass filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with red dessert sauce.
Vertical Image of an ice cream sundae glass filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with red dessert sauce.

Red Wine Sauce with Berries is a dessert sauce that is bursting with flavor. It has just 4 ingredients and is very simple to make. So very delicious over vanilla ice cream or your favorite vanilla flavored cake.

Berries and a deep red sauce over vanilla ice cream.

Are you a wine lover? Whether you are a wine enthusiast or haven’t quite found a wine you like, you will love this red wine dessert sauce with fresh berries.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • My Top Tips
  • Substitutions
  • More Delicious Desserts You Might Like
  • 📖 Recipe

I first created this recipe many years ago for a small get-together with friends that included dinner. I wanted an easy dessert that wouldn’t take a large amount of prep on the day of the event. So, I decided on serving ice cream… but wanted to make it extra memorable by serving it with a fruit sauce. It was summer and every berry was in season and in the stores. So, a berry dessert sauce seemed the best choice. But… it had to be very special.

A simple grilled seasoned steak was my entrée and I had chosen a lovely red wine, a Malbec from Catena Vineyards in Argentina, to be served at dinner. It was very fruit-forward with red berry flavors and had a lovely soft chocolate finish. So, I decided to use it, instead of plain water, as the basis of the sauce.

But, that wasn’t enough. I was going to make this sauce luscious with a bounty of berries. So, I added berries to the wine and sugar as it simmered and reduced. Plus I added more berries after it simmered and cooled.

Generally, fruit sauces are made by cooking sugar and water, which is the same as making a simple syrup and then adding fruit and possibly other flavors to make a sauce.

But, I wanted something more interesting and complex in flavor. This is why I chose to use red wine instead of water for the sauce and I decided to reduce the sauce to concentrate the flavor of the red wine and the berries. Those two simple changes take this sauce from good to Wow!

So, are you ready to make the best dessert sauce ever? Great! Let's Cook!!

Ingredients

The ingredients, clockwise from top right: red wine, fresh raspberries, fresh blackberries, white granulated sugar.

Just 4 ingredients make this dessert sauce:

Red Wine - Choose a red wine you would like to drink that is fruit-forward with flavors of red and blackberries. Good choices are Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux Blends, and Claret.

White Granulated Sugar - Just plain white sugar is used in this recipe. Please do not substitute.

Fresh Raspberries - Fully ripe raspberries that are bright red are best.

Fresh Blackberries - Choose blackberries that are bright deep purple and plump.

Now let's look at the simple steps to make this decadent berry dessert sauce:

Instructions

A medium saucepan with raspberries and blackberries, red wine, and sugar.

Step 1 – In a medium saucepan, mix together red wine and granulated white sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add ½ of the blackberries and ½ of the raspberries. Allow the sauce to simmer for approximately 30 minutes to thicken and reduce the sauce.

Mashing the berries with a potato masher.

Step 2 - Midway through the simmering time, use a potato masher to crush the berries in the sauce.

Skimming the foam from the sauce with a spoon.

Step 3 - Skim foam as needed as the wine and berry sauce simmers.

The sauce has reduced and coats the back of a spoon.

Step 4 – The sauce is ready when it is slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

The sauce is now ready to be cooled and transferred to a bowl and refrigerated.

Just before my guests arrived, I took the sauce out of the refrigerator and I added even more fresh berries to the sauce. As we ate dinner the sauce warmed to room temperature and the freshly added berries became bathed in that luscious reduced red wine and berry sauce.

Last step - Add fresh berries to the cooked & cooled sauce.

My guests were wowed. They had seconds… then asked if there was any more of the berry sauce to take home.  That is when I knew this red wine dessert sauce was a hit!

My Top Tips

Use a Good Red Wine - Please do not use a "cooking wine". Use a wine that you enjoy drinking for this recipe. A fruit-forward red wine such as Malbec, Merlot, Bordeaux Blends, and Claret are excellent choices. Also, do not use a sweet wine or the sauce will be too sweet and cloying.

Get the Very Best Flavor & Visual Appeal - If you do not need to use all of the sauce at once, portion out the amount of sauce you need and add fresh berries to that portion.

This Sauce is More than an Ice Cream Topping! - You can also serve this berry sauce over cakes like pound cake, coconut cake, angel food cake, puddings like white chocolate and vanilla, and also over plain cheesecake and baked brie cheese.

  • A petite parfait of white cheesecake pudding with layers of red raspberries and blackberries in a red wine dessert sauce.
  • Red wine dessert sauce with berries over a slice of white coconut cake.
  • A footed dessert glass filled with white chocolate pudding and topped with a red berry sauce.

Substitutions

Use Frozen Berries - If fresh berries are not available, use frozen. Add the frozen berries to the wine and sugar as it comes to a simmer. Then use more thawed frozen berries in the final step to have the fresh, whole berry look and taste.

Use Different Berries - Boysenberries, marionberries, and blueberries all will make a delicious sauce too.

I am not kidding. This red wine dessert sauce is so good you will want to lick the bowl!

More Delicious Desserts You Might Like

  • Lazy Daisy Cake
  • Salted Toffee Blondies
  • Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Cake

📖 Recipe

An ice cream sundae glass filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with red dessert sauce.

Red Wine Sauce with Berries

5 from 5 votes
Encharted Cook | Jan Nunes
A dessert sauce that is bursting with the flavors of red wine and berries. Delicious over vanilla ice cream or your favorite vanilla flavored cake.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8
Calories 162 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 Cup Red Wine
  • 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
  • 12 oz. Fresh Blackberries, Divided
  • 12 oz. Fresh Raspberries, Divided

Instructions
 

  • In a medium saucepan mix together red wine and sugar. Bring the red wine and sugar to a boil over medium heat stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add ½ of the blackberries and ½ of the raspberries. Set aside the remaining berries for later.
  • Allow the sauce to simmer and reduce for approximately 30 minutes. Midway through the simmering time, use a potato masher to crush the berries in the sauce.
  • Skim the foam as needed as sauce simmers.
  • The sauce is ready, when it is slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
  • Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. Transfer it to a glass bowl or container and refrigerate it until you are close serving time.
  • Remove it from the refrigerator and add the remaining berries. Stir very gently to combine and allow the sauce to come to room temperature before serving.
  • This sauce will keep in the refrigerator in a covered container for 1 week.

Video

Notes

My Top Tips
Use a Good Red Wine - Please do not use a "cooking wine". Use a wine that you enjoy drinking for this recipe. A fruit-forward red wine such as Malbec, Merlot, Bordeaux Blends, and Claret are excellent choices. Also, do not use a sweet wine or the sauce will be too sweet and cloying.
Get the Very Best Flavor & Visual Appeal - If you do not need to use all of the sauce at once, portion out the amount of sauce you need and add fresh berries to that portion.
This Sauce is More than an Ice Cream Topping! - You can also serve this berry dessert sauce over cakes like pound cake, coconut cake, angel food cake, puddings like white chocolate and vanilla, and also over plain cheesecake and baked brie cheese
Substitutions
Use Frozen Berries - If fresh berries are not available, use frozen. Add the frozen berries to the wine and sugar as it comes to a simmer. Then use more thawed frozen berries in the final step to have the fresh, whole berry look and taste.
Use Different Berries - Boysenberries, marionberries, and blueberries all will make a delicious sauce too.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 105IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.7mg

All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.

centered image

« Simple Syrup Recipes Chart
Garlic Parmesan Hamburger Buns »
  • Share
  • Twitter
  • Email

Reader Interactions

♥ — add a comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Jan Nunes with a floral background

Hi There! I'm Jan...... and I Love to Cook! For years I have been comparing recipes, creating new ones, and cooking up a storm. Do you like to cook, bake, look at food, and talk about it? Great! You are in the right place. So…Let's Cook!

More about me →

♥ All Time Reader Favs

  • Coconut Rum Sunrise Cocktail
  • Everything Chaffle
  • Easy Ground Beef Enchiladas
  • Maple Beam and Cream Cocktail
  • Pizza Eggs
  • Red Wine Sauce with Berries

♥ Featured Charts

  • Quick Bread Recipes Chart
  • Crumb and Streusel Topping Recipes Chart

♥ Subscribe

White floured surface and two heart cookie cutter with text overlay "Subscribe to our monthly newsletter".

Love lists? Me too! Get all 6 of my favorite printable lists and planning sheets when you subscribe today!

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright Notice

Subscribe for Exclusives

  • Get Free Kitchen Planners!

Contact

  • Contact Me

Copyright ©2022 Jan Nunes, Encharted Cook. All Rights Reserved