Winter Sangria

This beautiful sangria combines red and white wine for a taste that is more about the fruit and less about the type of wine used.  Seasonal fruits make it perfect for the colder weather outside and there's no club soda to dilute this fruity wine.

WINTER SANGRIA

1 bottle red wine, preferably burgundy
1 bottle white wine, preferably chablis
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brandy
1 pear, with peel on, sliced in 1/8's with seeds and stem removed
1 apple, with peel on, sliced in 1/8's with seeds and stem removed
1 orange, sliced

Combine wines, sugar and brandy in large pitcher.  Stir gently until sugar dissolves.  Add fruit slices and stir gently.  Chill for at least 2 hours and serve cold.

Limoncello

Limoncello is not sangria but it is oh so good and just as easy to make. I have two Meyer lemon trees on my back porch in huge Italian looking pots and they are both covered in lemons that will be ripe and ready any day now. I plan on making plenty of limoncello using this recipe. Limoncello is a refreshing apertif but can also make a nice accompaniment to appetizers when mixed with a little club soda or champagne.

LIMONCELLO

2 pounds lemons
35 ounces good vodka
2 pounds sugar
4 cups water

Slice lemons. Place in large, glass, sealable container (like a large Mason jar). Add vodka and seal. Keep in a cool dark place, like a pantry, or in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 days. Once alcohol has been infused with lemon slices, removed the slices.

In a large bowl, mix sugar and water. Add infused alcohol to sugar mixture. Mix thoroughly. Decant into sealable glass bottles. Keep limoncello in refrigerator or freezer.

Serve in small shot glasses or over ice.

Spicy Sangria

Fragrant with cinnamon, allspice and cloves, this is the perfect sangria for a chilly day. While it requires a little more work than most (you actually have to use your microwave!), the payoff is a lovely drink with the subtle taste of autumn.

SPICY SANGRIA

1 1.5 liter bottle dry red wine
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons Triple Sec
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
5 whole cloves
3 whole allspice
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 cups club soda
1 orange, cut in wedges
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced

Combine 1/2 cup wine, brandy, Triple Sec and sugar in a large glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, until mixture is warm. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add remaining wine, fruit juices and spices. Chill at least 2 hours.

Strain mixture into a large pitcher, discarding spices. Just before serving, stir in club soda and fruit. Serve.

Autumn Sangria

November is here!  The weather has gotten so much cooler and a good Autumn Sangria recipe is in order.  Here's one I adapted from an Autumn Sangria recipe found on recipezaar.com.  It uses lots of dried fruits, perfect for the season.

AUTUMN SANGRIA

1 cup dried figs
1 cup dried plums (prunes)
1 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup molasses
1 bottle light red wine
1 bottle sparkling apple cider, chilled
1 orange, thinly sliced

1.  Halve, quarter or slice dried fruit.  In 3-quart glass pitcher, combine dried fruits and molasses.  Stir until well-combined.  Slowly pour in red wine.  Cover and chill for several hours to overnight.

2.  Add sparkling cider and orange slices to glass pitcher.  Stir gently.  Fill glasses with ice and add sangria.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! from I Heart Sangria! My plan for tonight is to go out trick-or-treating with my husband and son, the gladiator (who knows where that came from?), and to take along some Orange Sangria in a to-go cup. The weather should be clear and crisp tonight, perfect for a walk through the neighborhood.  I'm encouraging the gladiator to get lots of Twix bars although he is more interested in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Have a safe and fun Halloween!

Balsamic Marinated Olives

The perfect accompaniment to a cold, fruity glass of sangria has to be marinated olives. Here's a recipe that is absolutely delicious.

BALSAMIC MARINATED OLIVES

2 8-ounce jars ripe olives, drained
2 7-ounce jars kalamata olives, drained
2 7-ounce jars pimiento-stuffed olives, drained
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours. Allow to come to room temperature before serving. Serve with slotted spoon.

Purple Party Sangria

There is no doubt about this recipe - you use this when you are going to be surrounded by adults who want to party hard and have a very loose definition of what qualifies as "sangria."  Even using a loose definition, however, this one is an unusual, colorful and surprisingly tasty drink (although I haven't personally mixed up a batch since college).  And, of course, you can customize it with whatever flavor of Kool Aide you like.  But grape-flavor and a sort of neon purple seems just right at Halloween.

PURPLE PARTY SANGRIA

2 packets grape Kool Aide
3 quarts water
2 cups sugar
1 750 ml bottle white wine
1 liter ginger ale

In a large punch bowl, mix Kool Aide, water and sugar until sugar dissolves.  After sugar is dissolved, add a block of ice.  Then, mix in white wine.  Add ginger ale just before serving.  Makes 30 servings.

Try making your ice block using washed-out surgical gloves that you've filled with water or ginger ale and frozen in advance!   Creepy!

Quick, Easy & Cheap Boxed Wine Sangria!

While I Heart Sangria! previously gave a great recipe for low-cost Boxed Wine Sangria, I just came across something quicker, easier and cheaper on the market: "Box Set Sangria" at only $12.99 for a 3 liter box. That's 4 bottles of wine. You can't buy 4 bottles of cheap wine for $12.99!

So how does it taste? Pretty darn good! The ingredients are wine and "natural flavors" and I'm assuming its heavy on the natural flavors. The color is dark and purple-y so it has a red wine base with some fruity, citrus notes to it. Straight up, it tasted fine. With some club soda, it definitely improved. By floating a few orange slices in it, I easily achieved a more-than-acceptable sangria that I would be happy to serve at a big party. I'm sure that if this boxed sangria was decanted into a pitcher filled with fruit slices and allowed to chill for a few hours, it would be close to fabulous.

I'm adding Box Set Sangria to my list of quick, easy & cheap sangrias!


(You can purchase the t-shirt shown above by clicking here. The I Heart Sangria blog has no affiliation with this site.)

Blood Red Sangria

Another great Halloween sangria! This one comes from the Drink of the Week blog and is called "Blood Red Sangria."  It uses dark fruits and warm honey, along with the traditional sangria ingredients, to produce a sweet and ruby-hued drink fit for any blood-thirsty ghoul.

BLOOD RED SANGRIA

1 bottle red wine
12 oz. club soda
2 oz. cognac
3 tbs. warmed honey
4 sliced figs
1/2 cup red or black grapes, halved
1/2 cup pitted cherries (can use frozen if necessary)
ice

Combine the fruit in a large glass bowl, adding the cognac and honey until the honey is dissolved. Pour in the wine and stir gently. Refrigerate for a minimum of two hours and as long as over night.

When ready to serve, pour the mixture into a glass pitcher. (Some people prefer to strain out the fruit at this point and then add it at the end to individual servings.) Add the club soda and stir gently. Pour sangria into wine or highball glasses that are filled with ice.

Blog Action Day '09: Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day - a day for bloggers throughout the world to unite and wield their "blogging" power by discussing one topic important to everyone. And this year that topic is Climate Change.

So while this blog is all about sangria, I'm here to tell you how we sangria-fans can make a difference in the world and have a positive impact on global climate change. And the one very simple thing we can do? Drink organic wines! More specifically, drink "biodynamic" wines.

"Organic" wines are made from 100% organically grown ingredients and carries the USDA's organic seal. They contain only naturally occurring sulfites. As the article Salute Organic Wines on The Daily Green website explains, "Biodynamic" wines go beyond organic:

Biodynamic is based on the precise observation and an attempt at balance of nature, a concept originated by the early 20th-century Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. So, biodynamic wine is not only 100% organic, in addition, the grower has gone beyond to try to bring the farming process more closely in tune with nature. For instance, biodynamic wine growers may make their own compost and/or watch the stars and planets to time what they do.

The good news? Organic wines are everywhere, even at your grocery store. And biodynamic wines are not too hard to find either. Need help coming up with some good organic wines? Check out this article on The Daily Green: 6 Good Organic Wines for Under $25.

So enjoy your sangria and save the planet at the same time by drinking organic wines!

Boxed Wine Sangria

You're having a party and you want to make a lot of sangria, you want it to taste good, and hopefully, be economical (i.e., cheap).  Here's a great recipe using boxed wine which is not only reasonably priced but is also very tasty.

BOXED WINE SANGRIA

1 1/2 cups brandy
1 cup Grand Marnier
1 cup orange juice, fresh-squeezed if possible
3/4 cup lemon juice, fresh-squeezed if possible
1 cup sugar
1 3-liter box red wine, preferably Merlot or Shiraz
4 peaches, thinly sliced
48 oz. club soda, chilled

In a 2-gallon container, mix brandy, Grand Marnier, orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar.  Stir gently until sugar dissolves.  Add wine and peaches and stir gently.  Refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours.

To serve, pour 1/3 mixture into large pitcher half-filled with ice.  Add 16 oz. club soda.  Pour into glasses.  When pitcher is empty, repeat with 1/3 mixture and 16 oz. club soda two more times.

Makes about 30 servings.

Another Orange Sangria

Here's a beautiful, citrus-y, orange sangria, again perfect for fall and the Halloween season. This one is nicely spiked with sparkling wine.

ANOTHER ORANGE SANGRIA

1 gallon white wine
2 cups Triple Sec
12 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup lemon juice
2 oranges, thinly sliced
2 lemons, thinly sliced
2 bottles champagne or sparkling wine

Mix all ingredients, except champagne, in large pitcher. Chill for at least 2 hours. Add champagne just before serving. Makes 20-25 servings.

Black Sangria

I just love the name of this sangria - Black Sangria! And could there be a more perfect sangria for October and Halloween?  This is a recipe from the ever-popular and never-fail Silver Palate Cookbook.

BLACK SANGRIA

1 1/2 cups mixed cherries, blackberries and black grapes
1 strip of peel from a whole lemon
1/2 cup strongly brewed black tea, warm
1 bottle dry red wine
chilled club soda, to taste

1. Place the fruits and lemon peel in a 2 1/2-quart pitcher.
2. Add the tea and enough wine to cover the fruits. Chill the remaining wine.
3. Before serving, pour the remaining wine in the pitcher. Stir, and add ice and club soda to taste.

4 to 6 portions

Orange Sangria

October is here!  This month at I Heart Sangria! will be dedicated to all things Halloween!  To start with, a fabulous Orange Sangria.  I have made this excellent sangria so many times, I've lost track.  Any every time I make it, I'm asked for the recipe.  This is a nice sangria to serve in October when Halloween is on the way, citrus fruits are coming in season and orange is the perfect color!

ORANGE SANGRIA

2 medium oranges, sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best)
1 bottle white wine
1/2 cup Cointreau

1.  Place orange slices from 1 orange in bottom of large glass pitcher.  Reserve slices from second orange for garnish.


2.  Add sugar to pitcher and gently mash sugar into orange slices with wooden spoon.  Stir in orange juice, wine and Cointreau.  Cover and chill for an hour to overnight.

3.  Serve sangria in glasses over ice.  Using reserved orange slices, float an orange slice in each glass for garnish.   

Blueberry Sangria

When blueberries were in season, I bought several pints and set them up in my freezer. Now would be a great time to take them out and make a refreshing pitcher of Blueberry Sangria.

BLUEBERRY SANGRIA

1 bottle of fruity red wine, like Merlot
1 lemon, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 lime, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 orange, cut in 1/4 inch slices
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup Stoli Blueberry vodka
1/4 cup sugar
club soda

Pour wine into large pitcher. Add lemon, lime and orange slices and blueberries and stir gently to combine. In separate small pitcher or bowl, combine vodka and sugar and stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour vodka mixture into wine/fruit mixture and stir gently. Chill for several hours or overnight. Serve by pouring wine mixture into individual glasses and topping with 1/4 to 1/2 cup club soda per serving.

Traditional "El Rocio" Sangria

Here is a classic sangria recipe from The Cooking of Spain and Portugal, published in 1969 and part of the Time-Life Books Foods of the World Series. I have been collecting cookbooks from this series for years and just love them - they're so "60s"-ish. This recipe appears in Chapter III, entitled "The Light Touch of Andalusia's Cooks." Here's the editor's description of drinking sangria in Andalusia:

The sun was high the next morning when we reached El Rocio; I was thirstier than I could remember ever having been before. Hundreds of people were already walking and singing and dancing and riding around the little church with the shrine, until the dry earth rose in a dusty cloud over the moving bodies. I walked in the dust until I found a man who was pouring a bottle of light, red wine into a blue and green ceramic pitcher, and I waited while he washed some oranges, sliced them into the wine and then added slices of lemon, a bit of sugar, a long splash of brandy, and finally a small bottle of soda water and some ice. He mixed it hard with a wooden spoon, crushing some of the fruit, and then he gave me a glassful. . . . [T]he plain sangria I drank at El Rocio is the best I have tasted. It was our staple liquid for the next six hot days.

Sounds so romantic! Now, here's the recipe:

TRADITIONAL "EL ROCIO" SANGRIA

Sangria - Red Wine and Fruit Punch

1/2 lemon, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 orange, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 large apple, cut in half lengthwise, cored, and cut into thin wedges
1/4 to 1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 bottle dry red wine, preferably imported Spanish wine
2 ounces (1/4 cup) brandy
club soda, chilled
ice cubes (optional)

Combine the lemon, orange, apple and 1/4 cup sugar in a large pitcher. Pour in the wine and brandy and stir with a long-handled spoon until well mixed. Taste. If you prefer the sangria sweeter, add up to 1/4 cup more suage.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until thoroughly chilled. Just before serving, pour in chilled club soda to taste, adding up to 24 ounces of the soda. Stir again, and serve at once in chilled wine glasses. Or the glasses may be filled with ice cubes before adding the sangria.

Quick & Easy Blood Orange Sangria

The grocery stores are suddenly full of "Italian sodas" - carbonated fruit drinks in exotic flavors like pomegranate and lemon-blueberry. One of my favorites is blood orange and it can be used to make this fast, easy sangria which is perfect for a leisurely brunch. Because you make only one serving at a time, nothing should go to waste. For those who prefer a slightly alcoholic drink, less wine can be used. For a non-alcoholic drink, the blood orange soda is tasty on its own.

QUICK AND EASY BLOOD ORANGE SANGRIA

1 bottle blood orange Italian soda
1 bottle chardonnay

In a glass, mix one part soda to one part chardonnay. Proportions can be adjusted to taste. Float a slice of blood orange in the drink for garnish.

Honey & Lime Sangria

I have lots and lots of key limes ripening in my backyard right now. So here is a refreshing citrus-y Honey & Lime Sangria in which to use them.

HONEY & LIME SANGRIA

1 bottle dry white wine
2 large limes or 6-8 small key limes, sliced
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup triple sec liquor
club soda

Place lime slices in bottom of large pitcher. Mix honey and triple sec in measuring cup until well-combined. Pour over limes. Add entire bottle of wine and refrigerate for several hours to overnight. Pour into glasses to serve and top off with 1/4 to 1/2 cup club soda in each glass. Float a lime slice on top as garnish.