Sangria is a sweetened refreshing drink or beverage with red wine and fruit as its main ingredients. It might also contain lemon-lime soft drinks or other liqueurs. It hails from Spain, and it's an excellent idea for outdoor celebrations, picnics, and backyard barbecues, especially during warmer months.
If you like red wine and Summer drinks and you never tried sangria yet, you're in for a wonderful surprise.
This quick, easy red wine cocktail (a wine punch) is perfect for hot days and lazy weekends. This is a traditional recipe, but you can also make white wine sangria, rosé sangria with strawberries and festive cranberry sangria.
The work or effort is minimal, and the results are fresh, fruity, and boozy.
The red wine you use will mark the overall flavor.
We like to buy the best wine we can afford and use the same one we open to drink with our favorite butter steak or bake the wine chocolate cake recipe, and it's usually Malbec, a grape variety I love because I've yet to try a bottle that wasn't good.
But this classic red sangria recipe works with any red wine you like (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir).
Why make homemade sangria
- Very easy to make: cutting fruits and mixing liquids in a pitcher. That's all the work needed to make a fabulous traditional sangria.
- Crowd-pleaser: kids aside, this drink is a hit among adults, especially for hot summer months and gatherings. We double or triple this recipe when feeding a large party, and use a glass drink dispenser to serve it.
- Make ahead: the fruit will macerate more with every passing hour, but you can make sangria a few hours before serving it.
Ingredient list
- Red wine: use your favorite. It can be dry or sweetened (late harvest). Depending on your choice, increase or decrease the amount of syrup or sugar. Use a Spanish red wine (we love Rioja wine) for a more authentic sangria.
- Fruit: orange, peach, apple, and lemon. With rind and skin.
- Sweetener: a simple syrup or sugar. I favor the first option as it blends faster with the wine and doesn't pool at the bottom of the pitcher.
- Lemon lime soft drink: I use 7up, Sprite or ginger ale (Mountain Dew). Some recipes use club soda instead lemon sodas.
See the recipe card towards the end of this post for quantities.
Variations & substitutions
The beauty of sangria is that you can use different combinations of fruit and wines (inexpensive or more sophisticated ones).
- Other liqueurs: use a dash of orange liqueur (Cointreau or Grand Marnier), Triple sec (citrus), brandy or cognac.
- Different type of wine: use a rosé wine or an already sweetened late harvest red wine and omit the syrup (or use less).
- White wine sangria: use your favorite dry or sweet white wine (such as sauvignon blanc, tempranillo or late harvest). We call it Clerico, and it's common here (Argentina) for Summer gatherings.
- Different fruit: a traditional sangria uses the fruits described below, but you can add other seasonal fruit (berries, pineapple, grapes, mango), use tangerines instead of oranges, other citrus fruits instead of lemon (lime or grapefruit), green apple, or nectarines to make a similar drink.
- Sweetener: use honey or fruit syrup (like fig or grape) instead of sugar for a unique flavor. Or use brown sugar for a more caramel tone.
- Herbs: add a modern twist with chopped fresh mint, thyme or basil. Start small so it doesn't overpower the rest of the ingredients.
- Spices: add a cinnamon stick or star anise to the wine and let macerate with the fruit.
How to make this easy sangria recipe
You need unpeeled fresh fruit: apples, lemons, oranges, and peaches.
Slice the fruit and add it to the pitcher you'll be using.
Add the red wine first, ideally the whole bottle. Add some ice and stir.
Sweeten it with simple syrup and add other liqueurs or soft drinks. Add small amounts at first and adjust. Stir well, and that's it; your pitcher of sangria is ready!
Vintage Kitchen tip: don't add too much fruit from the start, as you might run out of pitcher space for the wine after you add ice.
Storage
- Without the fruit: use a sieve to drain the liquid and pass it to a sealed jar or bottle. Refrigerate the sweet wine but discard the fruit (or eat it). This is my first recommendation if storing it for a few days. Fruit ferments quickly, and there's a good chance the sangria was left outside or at room temperature before you store leftovers. So the fruit will already be heavily macerated.
- With fruit: if you store it with fruit because you'll be drinking it again soon, smell and taste it before serving to ensure it's not fermented.
- Airtight container, mason jar or bottle: it will seal in the wine mixture and help preserve it.
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Traditional Red Wine Sangria (easy recipe)
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Ingredients
- 1 bottle red wine, cold
- 3 slices of lemon with rind
- 1 large orange
- ½ red apple
- ½ large peach with skin
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup lemon-lime soda, 7up, Sprite or ginger ale, cold
- Ice cubes
- Extras: orange juice, orange liqueur, brandy, triple sec
Instructions
- Don't add too much fruit from the start, as you might run out of pitcher space for the wine after you add ice.
- You can use sugar and stir it with the rest of the ingredients. Or use a simple sugar syrup that can be made ahead. The syrup dissolves much better and is what we use.
- Make the simple syrup: in a small saucepan combine the sugar with ⅓ cup of water. Stir to moisten and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until it breaks into a boil. Remove and let cool completely. Keep refrigerated in an airtight jar or bottle. It keeps indefinitely.
For the sangria:
- Have a large pitcher ready to hold the whole bottle of wine, fruit and ice.
- Add the lemon slices and some ice cubes.
- Cut half an orange into slices, the ½ apple and ½ peach without removing the rind or skin. Add them to the pitcher.
- Squeeze the juice of the orange half that is left into the jar.
- Add the whole bottle of wine.
- Add about ¼ cup of simple syrup and the soft drink.
- Stir the sangria and check the sweetness. Adjust by adding more syrup or soft drinks.
- Add extras if using, a small amount at first. Check flavors and adjust if necessary.
Notes
Without the fruit: use a sieve to drain the liquid and pass it to a sealed jar or bottle. Refrigerate the sweet wine but discard the fruit (or eat it). This is my first recommendation if storing it for a few days. Fruit ferments quickly, and there's a good chance the sangria was left outside or at room temperature before you store leftovers. So the fruit will already be heavily macerated.
With fruit: if you store it with fruit because you'll be drinking it again soon, smell and taste it before serving to ensure it's not fermented.
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