Sangria
Red wine, brandy, orange and fruit, chilled for a few hours. The Spanish party pitcher — and the version with cheap wine and a mountain of sugar is not the one worth making.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Slice the orange and lemon — and an apple or a handful of berries if you have them — into a large pitcher.
Add the brandy, orange juice and syrup, and stir to coat the fruit.
Pour in the wine, stir, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to eight.
Serve over ice in wine glasses with some of the fruit in each, topped with a splash of soda if you want it lighter.
A thoughtful finish
- Make it ahead. The fruit needs a few hours in the wine; sangria mixed and poured immediately tastes of wine with bits in it.
- Use a fruity, low-tannin red. An oaky Cabernet or a tannic young wine fights the fruit and needs far more sugar to balance.
- Add ice to the glass, not the pitcher, or the second round is watery.
Common mistakes
- Drowning it in sugar and fruit juice. Good sangria tastes of wine, brandy and citrus, not of punch.
- Using wine you would not drink on its own. Cheap is fine; bad is not.
- Serving it the moment it is made.
A few good questions.
Which wine?
A young, fruity Spanish red — Garnacha, Tempranillo, a basic Rioja. Avoid anything oaky or heavily tannic. For white sangria, a dry Albariño or Verdejo.
Does sangria need brandy?
Not strictly, but a few ounces give it backbone and are traditional. Orange liqueur is the usual alternative.
How long does it keep?
Two days in the fridge, covered, with the fruit removed after the first day so it does not turn bitter.
Red or white?
Red is the classic. White sangria, sangria blanca, is lighter and suits summer; sparkling versions with cava are common in Spain.
Variations
- White Sangria — Dry white wine with peaches and citrus.
- Tinto de Verano — Red wine and lemon soda — Spain's everyday version.
- Kalimotxo — Red wine and cola, from the Basque Country.
- Mulled Wine — The hot, spiced winter cousin.
Where it comes from
c. 1700s; United States 1964 · Spain
Wine mixed with fruit, sugar and sometimes spirit has been drunk in Spain and Portugal for centuries; the word sangria — from sangre, blood — is recorded in the eighteenth century, and British accounts describe a ‘sangaree’ of wine, sugar and nutmeg in the West Indies at the same time. The drink reached the wider world at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, where the Spanish pavilion served it to millions, and it became an American fixture. Since 2014 the European Union has reserved the name for drinks made in Spain or Portugal; everywhere else it is simply what you call it.
Sources
- Wondrich, Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl, 2010 (book)
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
- EU Regulation 251/2014 on aromatised wine products, 2014 (regulation)
Strength. About 1.24 US standard drinks at an estimated 9.9% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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