Wine is a great love of mine. Especially red wine (although I do love some Riesling every now and then). The thing is, I live in Florida, and when the thermometer outside is reading 3937 degrees, sometimes red wine just doesn’t get it. In fact, when you’re sitting outside under the blazing sun, taking a sip of a drink that is resting at a gentle simmer and is acting as a jacuzzi to all kinds of wacky insect life, is just plain gross. So what does a wino do to combat this situation? Sangria, of course!

In the last couple of years, I’ve tried lots and lots of different sangria recipes. You can do ANYthing with sangria. But I think I’ve finally perfected all my experimenting into one all-around, amazing concoction…the best way to cope with a 9 month long summer when you can’t live without red wine.

Here’s the stuff I put in it. The measurements are approximate because I don’t really measure. Not because I’m some kind of amazing kitchen wonder woman who doesn’t need to…more like, I’ve just made sangria a few (hundred) times.

  • A bottle of red wine (like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon). You know the regular 750ml size bottle? Not that one. You want that huge bottle of cheapo wine that they line up along the very bottom of the shelf under the snobby wines. That’s the best part about making sangria…the $6.99 per gallon kind works fabulously!
  • About a cup of brandy…and I have recently discovered that using blackberry brandy takes this sangria from being the best, to the ultimate.
  • ¾ cup or so of triple sec.
  • About half a can of frozen lemonade concentrate (limeade will work too). Then you can pop the lid back on the leftover and save it for tomorrow, when you’re making it again.
  • About 1/3 cup of lemon juice. If you want to get all fancy, you can squeeze it yourself…I’m not all fancy.
  • About 3/4 cup orange juice.
  • One each lemon, lime, and orange, sliced. I always like to keep a couple of slices of each on the side, and cut them in half to put in the individual wine glasses to make them look pretty. (Okay, maybe I AM a little fancy).
  • A big handful of maraschino cherries. (leave the stems on…it makes it really priiity.)
  • A small bottle of club soda.

lemon, lime, and orange for sangria

Put all the fruit in a pitcher, and then add the wine and liquors, lemonade, orange juice, and lemon juice….well, basically, everything except the club soda.  I do not like sangria to be overly sweet, so I do not add any sugar…but if you want sweet, then go ahead and add a little to it. Put some ice and fruit slices in each individual glass…and then when you pour each  glass, top it off with a little bit of club soda (another way to sweeten this up is to use Sprite instead of club soda) The fizzier you want it, the more soda you add. Then, put a tip jar outside your door to help fund this once all your neighbors find out about your amazing sangria making skills.

Now sit outside in the sun with your yummy, icy, fruity wine instead of that lava stuff you were drinking before. Is that a bug floating in that glass? Of course not…it’s probably just an orange seed or something…cheers!

4 Comments

  1. Darlene on May 23, 2011 at 5:42 am

    Yum! Going to have to try this – our summers are only 3 months, but brutal!! It’ll be a nice switch from my Bud Lite Lime!

  2. ornamentgirl on May 23, 2011 at 9:39 am

    Definitely give it a try, Darlene, and let me know how you like it! :D

  3. Edward O Hepler on November 18, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    Sounds great. I like red wine, but my wife only likes red if it’s a good sangria, and this sounds great….I’ll have to try this for her.

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