Sangria

The first time I had sangria was in Spain. I was hooked. How can you go wrong with wine, fruit, sugar and brandy? At our house a pitcher of sangria is a standard item in the summer. One thing I LOVE about Sangria is its versatility. Traditionally Sangria is made of 4 things. Wine, chopped fruit, a sweetener and brandy. My every day recipe doesn't have brandy only because we don't normally have it on hand. This week we had just picked a bunch of blackberries... and I thought how lovely they would taste soaked in wine! Yes?

Here's what I do. Get a big pitcher. 2 bottles of wine. Now I've done red and white sangria (more about that later). This was white. I used Trader Joes selections for not more than $6/ bottle. I choose a sparkling bottle too for some bubbles. Yeah bubbles!!

Dump your fruit in the bottom of the pitcher. Add sweetener. 1/4 C sugar per bottle of wine is what I use. You can use sugar (super fine works best), simple syrup, splenda, whatever. Dump in the wine. Let sit for 6hours or so if you can stand it. It is really good 24 hours after you make it but who can wait that long? Maybe make 2 batches....

Enjoy!

Here are some ideas:

White Sangria,

1 bottle of dry white

1 bottle sparkling white

1/2 cup superfine sugar

2-4 cups fruit. Peaches, ripe nectarines, pears, blue-berries work great in white sangria.

Red Sangria,

2 bottles dry red

1/2 cup superfine sugar

2-4 cups fruit. Sliced oranges are GOOD in red sangria. Raspberries, blackberries, etc.

Make sure you put fruit in the cups. Not too much ice (if any), and serve with a spoon to eat up the yummy fruit as you go.