How to make Red Sangria at home? (Perfect for Summer)

• Food: Red Sangria
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

It’s a wonderful life! Let’s toast the occasion with this traditional red sangria recipe. While I enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day, sangria is best enjoyed with company.

Sangria is a festive, delicious, and enjoyable drink. It’s the ideal party punch to serve alongside Spanish tapas or Mexican cuisine.

On sweltering summer days, chilled sangria is unquestionably refreshing. It’s also suitable for cooler days, thanks to the red wine base and a variety of seasonal fruit alternatives.

Sangria is a Spanish drink, yet my friend Ali, who lives in Spain, claims that they don’t drink it very much there.

When I was in college, I went to Barcelona with several buddies and bought inexpensive cartons of sangria at a convenience store near the beach. That is something I do not advocate.

Today we’ll prepare authentic sangria with fine wine and delicious fruit. I’ve discovered how to make the best red sangria through research and trial and error. Ready?!

Ingredients for Red Sangria

You’ll end up with the finest sangria you’ve ever tasted if you start with these basic components. You don’t need any sweet liqueurs, sodas like 7-Up, or a lot of sugar, as it turns out.

Garnacha or Pinot Noir bottle

Garnacha (also known as Grenache) or Pinot Noir is the ideal wines for sangria. Garnacha is a Spanish grape variety, thus it’s my first choice for true Spanish sangria! Select a low-cost wine (under $20) that you would drink on its own.

What’s the connection between Garnacha and Pinot Noir? They’re fruity red wines with a low tannin content.

Tannins are naturally occurring chemicals found in grape skins, seeds, and stems that can impart a bitter or astringent flavor to the wine. Tannins are abundant in Cabernet Sauvignon, for example.

The difficulty with tannins in sangria is that they taste strange when cold. Cold high-tannin wine tastes chalky, extra-astringent, and unappealing in general.

It’s difficult to combat such odd flavors, and I’m guessing sangrias are generally overly sweet to compensate for the tannins’ bitterness. Thank you for assisting me in determining the tannin factor, Food & Wine!

Ripe, fresh fruit

Fruit infuses the wine with fresh flavor and sweetness, and the sangria takes on a confetti-like appearance.

Half an orange is squeezed into the sangria, then the other half is thinly sliced. Based on a suggestion from America’s Test Kitchen, I use lemon instead of lime.

Then I add seasonal fruit—in the summer, I like to use strawberries or peaches, and in the winter, apples and pears. Any combination is OK!

Brandy

Brandy gives a kick to wine and transforms it into a genuine cocktail. Brandy does not have to be expensive. For this sangria, I used E & J Brandy VSOP.

Are you looking for a mellower, lower-alcohol sangria? You can either leave out the brandy or use less, or dilute the sangria with club soda.

To taste sweetener

I’m not big on sweets, but a smidgeon here and there helps balance the brandy’s flavor and round out the flavors. When I can, I try to use natural sweeteners, and I’m happy to report that maple syrup is surprisingly delicious in sangria!

Real maple syrup has a mild caramel flavor that complements red wine and adds a layer of richness. It easily blends in with the other components, which is a plus.

I normally only use one to two tablespoons, depending on how salty I want it. You might not need any at all if you start with the correct wine and tasty fruit.

Sangria can be enjoyed now or later.

Sangria is a terrific party punch that can be made ahead of time. To get the most fruity flavor, combine everything and chill for 2 to 8 hours.

Are you in a hurry? If you start with cool wine and tasty fruit, you won’t need to wait long before serving your sangria! Squeezing half of an orange immediately into the wine gives it a fruity flavor right away, and the aroma of the remaining fruit adds to the overall fruitiness.

As a result, if you keep a bottle of wine in the fridge, sangria is an easy-to-prepare party cocktail. Are you as excited as I am about this?

Red Sangria

Yield: 6 glasses per batch
Meet the most delicious sangria you’ve ever tasted! This classic red sangria recipe, made with fresh fruit, brandy, and red wine, is sure to please. It’s quite simple to make! This recipe makes one pitcher, which serves six glasses.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bottle of affordable Garnacha (also called Grenache) or Pinot Noir or other fruity low-tannin red wine, chilled
• 1 large orange
• ½ cup brandy
• 1 cup thinly sliced seasonal fruit (I like Granny Smith apple or pear, strawberries, peaches or nectarines, pineapple, or a combination)
• 1 small lemon, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup*, to taste
• Ice, for serving

Instructions For Red Sangria

1. Cut the orange in half from the stem end down to prepare it. Half an orange juice should be squeezed into a pitcher. Place the remaining orange half in the pitcher after thinly slicing it.
2. Combine the prepared seasonal fruit with lemon juice. 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 1 tablespoon brandy Pour the wine into the pitcher and give it a good stir to incorporate everything. Taste and adjust the sweetness with another tablespoon of maple syrup if necessary.
3. This sangria can be served right away or left to marinate for 2 to 8 hours for a more fruity flavor. To keep it cool, serve it in wine glasses with a few ice cubes. Enjoy!

Notes

• ALTERNATIVES TO MAPLE SYRUP: The delicate caramel-like flavor of maple syrup and how well it mixes into other liquids are two of my favorite things about it. However, you can substitute sugar (brown or white) or simple syrup.
• CHANGE IT UP: Just before serving, carefully add some club soda into the pitcher for a lighter, effervescent sangria.