Sangria Spikes up Summer Fun

No Comments | Written on May 29, 2012 at 3:00 pm, by The Editors

Sangria isn’t just a summer beverage. It’s summer in a bowl, an excuse to use fresh strawberries, peaches, blackberries, and other fruits of the season that will show up later in a beautiful glass filled with the most refreshing of thirst-quenching coolers. Sangria is the classic drink of Spain and Portugal, and each frosty pitcher seems to burst with sunshine. There are so many sangria combinations, too; any one of these recipes is sure to please someone in the crowd.

While we usually think of the drink as deep crimson in color, thanks to the addition of red wine, many sangria recipes call for white wine instead. Or even a dash of Triple Sec, brandy, or cognac. Just as choosing your favorite fruit is part of the fun with sangria, so is mixing and matching the other ingredients—especially favorite wines like Syrah or a refreshing Pinto Grigio. Club soda turns your sangria into a sparkling beverage, and you can sweeten sangria with honey, sugar, or cinnamon. We’ve included a recipe here for mock sangria, but it’s easy to fiddle with any of these recipes—go on, toss in some basil from the garden—once you get the hang of making the drink, to tailor-make sangria to suit everyone’s special needs. And that includes guests who are watching their weight.

One thing’s for sure: Sangria is the Numero Uno crowd-pleaser for a picnic or summer barbecue, guaranteed to kick the backyard fun up to a new level while providing real nutrition at the same time.