A great sangria starts with great wine. Here’s how to make a fresh, fruit-filled pitcher that will become the star of every backyard barbecue and summer gathering.
We’ve reached the midpoint of summer, which means there’s not much time left to enjoy the great outdoors. If you haven’t taken advantage of the warm weather to entertain in your backyard or on your rooftop patio, what have you been waiting for? It’s really easy: fire up the barbecue, invite a few friends over and make a batch of sangria.
Sangria is a summer staple in our world for two reasons. First, it’s easy to batch for a crowd. Second, it’s delicious and typically lower in alcohol than many classic cocktails, making it the perfect drink for your next backyard party.
Fortunately, making great sangria is surprisingly simple. But there is one secret that many people don’t want to talk about: sangria is not an opportunity to use a cheap bottle of wine that you don’t really like. Trying to disguise mediocre wine with fruit juice and seasonal fruit doesn’t fool anyone. It’s one of the reasons sangria has developed an undeserved reputation over the years.
The most important ingredient in any great sangria is a wine you’d happily drink on its own. We suggest using a delicious, full-bodied red, like a Cabernet Sauvignon, that’s enjoyable enough to sip by itself, yet still reasonably priced. Our go-to red this summer is Wakefield Estate Label Cabernet Sauvignon.
The second secret to great sangria is fresh seasonal fruit, so use whatever is ripe and grown locally if the fruits listed below aren’t available in your area.
Here’s the recipe for your new favourite summer sangria:
- 1 x 750ml bottle of Wakefield Estate Cabernet Sauvignon wine
- 4 oranges (or 1 orange and 3 cups of good quality, natural orange juice)
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 peach
- 1 apple (cored and diced)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 30mL brandy
- 1 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 litre ginger ale
- Garnish – sprigs of mint & orange wedges
Directions:
- Slice rounds of 1 orange and the lemon. Cut each slice in half and place in a large bowl. Add apple, cinnamon and brandy. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Juice remaining oranges (or use 3 cups of fresh orange juice) and lime. Pour the bottle of wine into a large 2 litre jug and combine with orange and lime juice and sugar, stir to dissolve sugar. Slice peaches and add to the jug along with the refrigerated apple mixture. Top with ginger ale to fill the jug.
- Serve in tall glasses over crushed ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and wedge of orange.
- Enjoy!
