• 3 cups tart cherry juice , such as Knudsen's Just Tart Cherry
• 3 cups red wine (Choose one with big blackberry or cherry notes such as a shiraz, merlot, burgundy or cabernet sauvignon)
• 4 ounces (or less, to taste) sugar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice or 1 squeezed lemon plus rind
• 1/8 tsp. (a dash) ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 1 1/2 pounds (about 4 cups) morello cherries (or other tart cherries), ideally fresh off the tree! Canned or frozen pitted cherries will also suffice.
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream (or whole milk yogurt)
• 2 ounces flour (optional, to use as a thickening agent)

Combine cherry juice with wine, sugar, lemon juice, a piece of lemon rind, spices and a pinch of salt. Add cherries and heat slowly, until boiling. Turn heat down to simmer gently, about 5 to 8 minutes to diffuse the alcohol and cook cherries slightly. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 to 20 minutes.

If the soup is still warm and you'd like to thicken the broth, combine sour cream or yogurt with flour in a small heat-resistant bowl. Stir until smooth. Ladle a spoonful of warm soup into the sour cream mixture and whisk to combine. Gradually pour the sour cream/soup mixture back into the pot of soup, in a steady stream, stirring to combine until smooth.

If the soup is completely cooled, just add the sour cream or yogurt until smooth.

Chill 2 to 4 hours.

Serve cold. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and crème fraîche—made with equal parts heavy cream and sour cream.

Recipe courtesy of Rick Martin, Free State Brewing Company.