Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite drinks is sangria.
Whether it’s winter or summer – give me a glass of sangria and you’ll immediately conquer my heart.
I must confess that despite all this love of mine, I only recently started making sangria at home.
Until recently, I was content just sipping sangria in restaurants and bars; then, about a year ago, my friend, Naomi, found bottled sangria and bought it for a bachelorette party.
What can I tell you – ready made sangria in plastic bottle? Not the most appealing thing in the world… but it was really cheap and we decided to take the risk – we poured several bottles of sangria into a huge pitcher and added orange and apple slices, and you can say that this drink turned into the highlight of the night and exceeded all of the vodka and other alcohol!
Since then, bottled sangria has become a tradition – going to the beach? Sangria. Sitting at home with all the guys? Sangria. There's a party? Sangria.
One tiny thing ruined my celebration – not all bottled sangrias are good. We just happened “to fall” on an amazing one and I couldn’t find the same kind or a worthy replacement for it anywhere in Eilat.
So what's a girl like me – who got used to drinking sangria whenever she feels like it, and inexpensively – to do?!
I always thought that preparing sangria at home was too much work, but after a little research and testing different recipes, I found out that you can easily prepare two types of summery sangrias everyone loves, one red and one white.
What’s most important – you can prepare a large quantity and keep it in a big bottle in the fridge for a few days
◄◄ Summery and light white sangria ►►
Preparation Time – 5 minutes
Quantity – 1 liter
Ingredients –
- 1 bottle of dry white wine
- 150 ml. Cava
- 1 shot of fruity liqueur {I used lychee flavored liqueur} or monin syrup {fruity syrup for cocktails}.
- For decoration: watermelon, peach, grapes or any other summery fruit you love
Instructions –
- Mix the wine and Cava in a big pitcher.
- Pour a little liquor on the bottom of each glass.
- Add the Cava and wine mixture.
- Decorate with fruits.
◄◄ Cold Red Sangria ►►
Preparation Time – 10 minutes + 1 hour to cool in the fridge
Quantity – 1 liter
Ingredients –
- Half a bottle of red wine {you could use a cheap bottle 😉 }
- 2 oranges, squeezed
- Cinnamon stick
- 2 cloves
- 2 anise stars
- Half a teaspoon of candied ginger
- 2-3 tablespoons of honey
- For decoration: passion fruit and cherries
Instructions –
- Cook the orange juice along with all the spices for 5-7 minutes on a low-medium flame. At this point you should already smell the spices come to life
- Add the wine and honey and simmer on a low flame until fully melted. It’s very important to make sure the Sangria doesn’t come to a boil.
- Taste to see if the spices’ flavors are felt. If not, cook for another minute.
- Chill in the fridge for about an hour, or until completely cooled down.
- Place several of frozen cherries in the glass, pour the sangria and decorate with passion fruit.
Which sangria do you prefer – white or red?
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