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When it comes to Sangria, one of my favorite Spanish cocktails, I am wordless. It is refreshing, flavorful, tasteful, and a little dizzy. I like everything that offers Sangria – from a pleasant and nice feeling to a heady taste.

Sangria is a light and aromatic alcohol cocktail originated in Spain. Being colorful, sweet and resembling a sour/sweet juice, it lightly dizzies you as a trick. Its base is traditionally made of red wine, spring water, fruit or berry slices and cane sugar.

Sangria has different version of origin and can be prepared in different ways. It is a beloved and mostly drinkable cocktail in most of the Mediterranean countries, especially on hot summer days. It is drunk more than wine. Nobody knows when and by whom it was created. Myths envelop this drink with veil of mystery. One legend tells that an Italian soldier who couldn’t create wine from citrus fruits add them to the wine. And maybe the truth legend is about Spanish peasants massacre, who before the death, treated the punishers with a wonderful drink. Or about fruit pickers who added fresh fruit to a jar of wine! This is actually not so important, because this cocktail is divine. The most important thing about Sangria is that in the 19th century this cocktail became the bestseller in Spain, Italy and Portugal. Until the middle of 60s only Mediterranean peasants drank sangria. But after the New York exhibition “New York World’s Fair” in 1964, this drink became a visiting card of Spain. Sangria was advertised and introduced in the restaurants bar menu. By the way, it was created thousands of recipes for sangria, with different combination of wine, strong alcohol, water, fruits and spices.

Now in the markets you can find commercial sangria. But the Mediterranean locals believe that this is not a real sangria. They pretend that a real sangria can be prepared at home with fresh fruits and good wine. No artificial flavors are added in Sangria.

The best Sangria is served with ice cubes in wine glasses for dinner or just to refresh your feelings.

In Spain, Sangria is considering to be very frivolous drink. Actually in my last journey to Barcelona I realized that locals does not drink Sangria at all. Now Sangria become a must-try cocktail for tourists visiting their country. Locals love to drink Vermouth, Sidra, Tinto de Verano and Kalimotxo.

How to make Easy Sangria recipe?

I love the refreshing feeling it gives to me on a warm day. On hot summer days, when I want to reinvigorate myself I definitely go for a good quality Sangria. I never worry about, either my Sangria recipe is authentic or not. I just jerry-rig my own authentic easy Sangria recipe from ingredients that I have at home.

Squeeze the juice from three oranges and half of lemon, and cut the remaining orange and half a lemon into slices. For the fruits you can choose the one you love: orange, lemon, apple, peach, any tropical fruits, and berries. Combine one bottle of wine, obtained fresh juice, some leaves of peppermint, about 10 oz(300 ml) of Cointreau, a little bit of sprinkle water and mix well. If you love sweet Sangria you can add about three tablespoons of brown sugar (for me I never add sugar). Place slices of orange and lemon on the bottom of a large jug or a pair of smaller jugs and pour in wine mix. Mix again. Garnish the jug with a sprig of mint.

What is the best wine for Sangria?

For an authentic Sangria recipe, it is not necessary to take an expensive wine. Just take an ordinary red wine. An ordinary wine, I mean a simple table Spanish, French, Italian or any other natural wine. There is no sense to use expensive vintage wines, since when diluted they lose their original taste. If you are not a lover of red wine you can always experience with white dry wine or rose, which also combined well with other sangria ingredients.

What strong alcohol is best for home-made Sangria?

There is a big variety of strong alcohol that can be added to a homemade Sangria. From all the drinks I have tasted, Cointreau added to Sangria has the best balance. For me, any dry wine combined with sweet Cointreau, and mixed with fruits is all you need on a hot sunny day, and a perfect combination. Other good and strong alcohol can be dry liqueur or brandy, cognac, rum, whiskey, gin or vodka. This is not a required component, and if you opt for the light version of Sangria just do not add strong alcohol.

Sangria Tips:

Sangria has a big recipe variety and many of them include spices. Spices that are mixed in sangria are: cinnamon sticks, clove buds, ginger, nutmeg, mint, vanilla, etc.

If you do not love strong cocktails do not add strong alcohol but add some sprinkle water or soda.

I am in love with sparkling wine – and sometimes I prepare Sangria on the base of champagne. Also for sparkling effect you can use sprinkle water or soda. It is believed that carbon dioxide enhances the taste of sangria, introducing floral and nutty notes into it.

Sangria is usually serving in a large glass jug with a wooden spoon for catching fruit. Ice is optional but preferable. Sangria is suitable for a light lunch or after a pleasant dinner on a hot day. It is often served at parties, and it is justified – you can prepare several liters of a spectacular drink, guests will not get tiddly, tricking them with some inexpensive wine will save you some money. Amaze your friends – serve them with the Best Sangria!