With summer here, it's time for some sangria. The recipe here is adapted from dad's. This sangria is a little lighter on the alcohol but very tasty, fruity, and refreshing. Typical sangria includes brandy, which is omitted here. Sangria is a versatile drink, and can include any fruit you want. Orange and lemon are the most common, but apples and berries are options, also. The wine I used here was a Borsao Garnacha (a steal at $6.99). Any young and fruity red wine will work. It doesn't have to be Spanish, but if that would be the most traditional.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle young red wine, chilled
- 2 cups orange juice, chilled
- 3 lemons
- 1/4 cup sugar (more to taste)
- 1 orange
- 12 oz. chilled sparkling water
- Ice
Instructions
In a large pitcher, combine wine and orange juice. Quarter two of the lemons and squeeze all the juice into the pitcher. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add sparkling water. Taste the sangria and add sugar to taste. Slice remaining lemon and orange and add to pitcher.
Serve with ice and fruit slices.
Thanks for crediting me on this one. I absolutely agree with your wine choice for this sangria. I also prefer a sangria that is not overly heady. It makes for a lighter summer drink. Fresh, fruity, vibrant and bright red wine is the right choice. Complex, mature, oaky and delicate are all wrong words for a red wine to go into a sangria. Of course, Spanish is the traditional choice. There are so many inexpensive and very attractive Spanish wines around that there isn't a reason not to use it for sangria. Some also add orange liqueur to a sangria. I prefer to skip it for reasons already covered. There is such a thing as white sangria but not nearly as good as the red kind. I don't know the source of the word but I suspect that sangria is based on the word "sanguis" for blood. If I am right about the term, that would suggest that the first duty of a sangria is to be red.
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