With the summer days coming upon us, one of the most refreshing alcoholic drinks that I serve is my homemade sangria. Sangria generally includes red wine, sparkling water, fruit and sometimes some fruit juice. If you don’t like red wine, you can make it with white wine which is called Sangria Blanco. However, even if you feel you are not a red wine lover, try this recipe. I think you will love it.  My maternal grandfather, who immigrated here as a young man from Galicia, Spain, taught me how to make it. While there are a myriad of recipes for Sangria, this is how my abuelito did it and I get rave reviews when I serve this at parties. The fruits listed in the recipe are easily purchased and are available at almost every grocery store. But feel free to add/substitute other fruits that you like such as mangoes, guavas, papaya, plums, peaches, etc.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Bottle of Spanish red wine (refrigerated)
- 1 23 oz. bottle of sparkling water (refrigerated)
- 1/2 Med orange, sliced and quartered
- 1/2 Lemon, sliced
- 1/2 Lime, sliced
- 2 to three fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1/2 Small apple cored and sliced
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1 Cup brandy or bourbon
DIRECTIONS:
- Place sliced fruits in a storage container with a tight lid, large enough to fit the fruit, sugar and brandy or bourbon.
- Add the cup of sugar and brandy or bourbon, cover with a tight lid and shake well.
- Marinate over night or up to three days. If you are going to serve a lot of people, you may want to make several of these.
- When ready to serve, put the marinated fruit, sugar and liquid in a tall pitcher. Add the wine and stir well so that whatever sugar remains gets dissolved in the wine.
- Add the sparkling water, stir and serve over ice with a fruit slice garnish on the rim of the glass.