Traditional Red Wine Sangria

Red Wine Sangria is a traditional drink from Spain where Red Wine is mixed with fruits, brandy and soda. This summer cocktail drink is easy to make the best one is homemade. Here is a traditional authentic recipe plus a video recipe of how to make Sangria with red wine.

Considered to be a traditional beverage originating from Spain, Red Wine Sangria is more a punch prepared using red wine, chopped fruits and brandy!

For making Spanish Red Wine Sangria, I have used fruits like orange, lemon, strawberry and green apple, you could certainly suit yourselves and just go ahead with red apple in case you are more inclined towards that or use any other fruit that you like or is available.

One of the beauties about sipping classic Red Wine Sangria is the fact that it lets you taste the best of all the worlds.

Be it a motley of fruits or soda water finely mixed with red wine – oh, Red Wine Sangria, essentially refreshes you without a doubt!

Do read its easy homemade recipe and definitely prepare this traditional Red Wine Sangria Recipe for that next cocktail party and have fun while sipping it with your loved ones:

About the recipe

“Sangria (English: /sæŋˈɡriːə/, Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃ˈɡɾi.ɐ]; Spanish: sangría [saŋˈɡɾi.a]) is an alcoholic beverage.

A punch, the sangria traditionally consists of red wine and chopped fruit, often with other ingredients such as orange juice or brandy.” – Source

A traditional sangria is a sweet punch made using red wine, fruits and an alcohol like brandy or rum. A little bit of soda water is added to it just before serving.

Flavors

• Fruity
• Citrusy
• Smooth
• Boozy
• Sweet
• Summery
• Refreshing

Ingredients

To make this Spanish Summer Cocktail, you need very few ingredients and this drink is very customisable.

I have mentioned the ingredients that you will need to make this popular drink below.

Red Wine – Red wine makes the base of sangria. You can use any red wine that you like. 

Brandy – Traditionally brandy was added along with red wine to make the sangria. But you can go ahead and replace it with rum, gin or vodka.

Orange flavored liquors like grand mariner or triple sec also go very well in this drink.

I have also tried adding Midori which is a melon flavored alcohol and it tasted great too.

Simple Syrup – sangria is a sweet drink. Add simple syrup according to your sweet preference. 

Fruits – Add any fruits that you have at hand. I have mentioned a list of fruits that can be added in sangria below.

Club Soda – You will need club soda to top the glasses. 

Which is the best wine to make it?

You can use any bold red wine to make a red Sangria. Do not go for expensive bottles to make Sangria.

In fact anything less than $10 is perfect. Below are the wines that I generally use to make red wine sangria.

• Merlot
• Shiraz
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Pinot Noir

Which fruits can be used to make it?

• Apples
• Oranges
• Pineapple
• Strawberry
• Blueberry
• Raspberry
• Peaches
• Pears
• Grapes
• Cranberry
• Watermelon
• Muskmelon

You can also try adding herbs like rosemary, mint and basil in your sangria for a different flavor.

Tools required

Pitcher – You will need a large glass pitcher to make and serve Sangria.

Measuring Cup – Make sure to measure the ingredients correctly for a fine taste of this drink.

Serving Glasses – Use tall red wine glasses to serve sangria.

Tips

Use a good but not too expensive wine. The point of sangria is to get the flavors blend with each other and make a refreshing blend.

Make sure to refrigerate the Sangria at least for 3-4 hours before serving for the flavors to blend nicely.

You can increase the amount of sugar syrup according to your sweet preference.

You can use fruits of your choice but if using soft fruits, add them closer to serving time otherwise they will get mushy.

You can use spices in your Sangria recipe like cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg.

Try adding herbs like basil, mint and rosemary for a change in flavor.

Replace brandy with any orange liquor if you wish to.

How to make it with Rum?

Some classic sangria recipes use Rum instead of Brandy. To make sangria with Rum, replace brandy with dark rum.

You can even make red wine sangria with vodka. 

Does it need to be refrigerated?

A lot of people think that since we do not need to refrigerate Red Wine, a sangria made using red wine also need no refrigeration. But unlikely, sangria is more of a punch with red wine as one of the ingredients and tastes best when chilled.

Also the flavors from the fruits must be steeped in the liquid for best taste. So refrigerating the red wine sangria for a few hours before serving is highly recommended.

You might also like

Frozen Strawberry Margarita

Mango Martini

Blueberry Mojito

Strawberry Sauce

Recipe to make simple syrup is here