Cool refreshing sangria is the queen of summer drinks. Serve the classic red and fruity variety or give it a twist with rosé, white wines or even sparkling – get creative!
The basis of a good sangria is three simple ingredients: wine, juice and chopped fruit, plus an optional slug of liqueur. Setting aside the classic red wine version for the moment, why not experiment with other wine and juice combos?
Dry white wines make delicious sangrias as they are fruity with floral notes. There’s a wide range of whites to choose from, but for best results, opt for a decent quality wine such as an Albariño, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Rueda Verdejo, a Malvasia, of course, also Chablis, or a young Portuguese white Alentejo or Lisboa-Colares. German wines like Riesling or Gewurztraminer also work well. Some recipes recommend adding a sweet wine, others a sparkling… the choice is yours. A Brut cava also makes a super, sparkly sangria.
The low acidity and fruity notes of a rosé, plus its slightly sweet taste, also make it ideal for sangria. The most common rosés wines are Grenache, Tempranillo and Mourvèdre, not forgetting Lanzarote, which boasts some excellent denomination of origin (D.O.) rosés.
With wine and fruit as your base, the rest is up to you! The variety, quantity and proportions of wine, fruit and liqueur can make all the difference. Our recipes below are just suggestions. If you like a sweet touch, be sure to add any sweetener, sugar, honey or syrup, little by little so you don’t overwhelm the other flavours. Mix all the ingredients well and serve with plenty of ice.
White Sangria
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1 or 2 cups of fruit – lime, lemons, green apple or kiwi.
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1 bottle of white wine (unoaked).
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1/2 cup gin or vodka.
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1/2 cup lemon or grapefruit juice.
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1 or 2 cups of lemonade or orangeade (unsweetened).
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1/3 cup sweetener.
Pink Sangria
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1-2 cups of tropical fruit – peach, melon.
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1 bottle of rosé wine.
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1/2 cup aged rum or brandy.
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1/2 cup tangerine or peach juice.
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1 or 2 cups of ginger ale or lemonade.
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1/2 cup sweetener.
Lambrusco Sangria
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1 litre of rosé Lambrusco
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2 cinnamon sticks (broken)
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1 tin of fruit in syrup (include the syrup)
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2 level tablespoons of white sugar (optional)
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1/4 litre orangeade
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1/4 litre lemonade
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1 or 2 shots of Cointreau (to taste)
