Instant gratification sangria recipe

Most sangria recipes require patience and planning. I’ve often romanticized about laboring over a complicated multi-step batch of Sangria. I’d lovingly store it overnight to let it marinate and evolve into a sophisticated masterpiece. The next day I’d offer it to my friends and casually say, “Oh this lil recipe? It wasn’t any trouble at all.” My guests, unbelievably impressed with my boundless talent, would eagerly shower me in compliments: “This is the best sangria I’ve ever had!”

The reality is that I’m a lazy procrastinator and guests are lucky if I have ice on hand. Still wanting to impress without doing much work I’ve come up with an easy sangria recipe that can be made in under a minute. Check it out below.

Madeline’s easy sangria recipe

http://vimeo.com/46118808

Ingredients

• 1 Bottle Cheap Red Wine See Below
• 1 Cup Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
• ¼ Cup Fresh Lime Juice
• ¼ Cup Sugar

Directions

• Combine wine, grapefruit juice, and sugar.
• Stir well.
• Pour over ice.
• Squeeze fresh lime juice over sangria.
• Add garnish as desired.

Choosing a wine for sangria

Sangria became popular during the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. The wine used to make sangria was most likely Rioja (an official Spanish growing region since 1953). Rioja is made with Tempranillo grapes and is a fruity red wine with light tannin. Perhaps by coincidence, sangria is best made with wine varietals that are fruity and have lighter tannin. Consider these:

• Merlot
• Garnacha (aka Grenache)
• Zinfandel
• Tempranillo
• Malbec (not light, but it does have light tannin)
• Primitivo
• Sangiovese
• Lambrusco

Make it fancy

Add some fresh fruit for decoration such as grapes, apples, oranges or melon. Try a few dashes of orange bitters to add a little complexity to Sangria.

We tried this easy sangria recipe and it lasted for a week in our fridge. Well, almost a week. Someone drank it, but they said it tasted great. { hic! }

Madeline Puckette

Madeline Puckette is the host of WineFolly.com, a wine learning website serving up wine courses, videos and articles to inspire wine drinkers everywhere. A certified sommelier through Court of Masters, Madeline Puckette offers an alternative approach to loving wine: learn by drinking. Follow Madeline on Twitter and learn more about wine.

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