Celebrate good moments with this festive fruity Sangria, and we’ll tell you a secret: is best shared with friends! It’s a perfect party punch to pair with Hispanic tapas or Mexican food. Summer may have past, but its red wine base and versatile seasonal fruit options make it appropriate for cooler days, too!
So get some good wine and fresh fruit to enjoy it today!
Red Sangria Ingredients
Start with these basic ingredients and you’ll end up with the best sangria you’ve ever had! Spoiler: you do not need any sweet liqueurs, sodas like 7-Up, or tons of sugar.
1) Bottle of Pinot Noir
The best wine for sangria is Pinot Noir. Choose an inexpensive wine (under $20) that you would enjoy on its own.
Why? They’re fruity, low-tannin red wines. Tannins are a group of naturally-occurring compounds in grape skins, seeds, and stems that can make the wine taste bitter or astringent. Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, is high in tannins. When it comes to sangria, the problem with tannins is that they taste weird when cooled, sort of chalky and in general, not great.
2) Fresh ripe fruit
Fruit infuses the wine with fresh flavor and sweetness and gives the sangria a fun vibe. Squeeze half of an orange into the sangria, then thinly slice the other half.
Then add seasonal fruit— Use apples and pears in cooler months (and strawberries or peaches in the warmer months). Any combination will be fantastic!
3) Brandy
Brandy adds some kick and turns the drink into a true cocktail. You don’t need to spend a lot of brandy.
If you’re in the mood for a more mellow, lower-alcohol content sangria just skip it, useless, or dilute the sangria with some club soda.
4) Sweetener, to taste
Sometimes a tiny bit helps balance the flavor of the brandy and rounds out the flavors. Some maple syrup is surprisingly awesome in sangria! It offers a very subtle caramel-like flavor that plays well with red wine and adds some extra complexity. It blends perfectly into the other ingredients. Only one to two tablespoons are enough, but you can work it to taste. Start with the right wine and flavorful fruit, and you might not need any at all!