Ice it Down & Fruit it Up - Red Wine Sangria Recipes

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by Adam Haggerty

March 11th, 2013

I’m getting right to the point; the best part of wine is the drinking part. There’s no beating around the bush on this matter, you open it, you pour it, you drink it and you enjoy it. It’s that simple, but I’m going to complicate it, just a little though. Open your world to the different ways of enjoying wine, sangrias, spritzers and cocktails.

Let’s start off with my favorite type of wine mixer, the sangria. Sangrias are in my opinion a great year round drink, red wine sangria that is. If you’re not sure what sangria is, well I’m here to help. The quickest way to break it down is this. Red wine sangria is fruit (oranges, pears, apples, cherries and grapes), brandy and Sprite. You can search the internet and find thousands of recipes on red and white sangrias. Here is my favorite red sangria recipe:

4 parts Red Wine
Anything cheap or something you didn’t love. Pinot Noir, Merlot, Rioja etc.
½ part St. Germaine liquor
½ part Simple syrup
Splash Sprite

You can either muddle fruit in glass or cut it for jug/bowl size fermentation. Another refreshing style wine beverage is the white wine spritzer. When I hear about a spritzer, my mind automatically thinks of a southern women sitting on her porch and waving herself with a hand fan and complaining about the warm weather. But, it’s actually a great cool down summer drink and insanely easy to make. White wine, soda water and ice make this drink come to life. And if you have some citrus at home, cut it up and throw it in the glass. I typically like sweeter white wines like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc or Viognier for mine. Also, if you’re tight on money, this little refresher can be cheaper than a six pack.

The drinks mentioned above are probably the most famous of the wine style cocktails but like all liquor drinks, the possibilities are endless. A lot of wine cocktails are sherry based because of its sweetness and ability to blend well with others. And champagne style drinks are a plenty, you might’ve heard of a mimosa or Kir Royal for example. But let’s go above and beyond and talk about really out there red wine drinks. There’s a French Monkey (2/3 red wine & 1/3 Orangina), Diablo’s Blood (equal parts red wine & cola) and a Tavern Cooler (3/4 lemonade & 1/4 red wine). Looking for something a little more intricate? Try this one on for size and if you have the time…

Hot Frenchman
4oz Red Wine
¾ Gran Marnier
½ tsp sugar
¼ oz orange juice
¼ oz lemon juice
1 twist orange/1 twist lemon
Heat well and serve yourself and your smiling friends.

With the weekend fast approaching and with you wondering what you’re going to do, I believe that I’ve mapped out some drinks ideas for you to serve at your party. You didn’t have a party planned? Well, I think the best thing to do in this situation is to get one going. Or you could do what I do and turn off the lights, drink by yourself and shed single tears. I’m obviously kidding? I hope with these cocktails, they get your nights and weekends off on the right foot and hell, grab some chocolates. Enjoy!

Adam Haggerty

Follow me @AdamHaggerty

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