Red Wine Sangria with Strawberries

By garciamoss

*Most red wines will work. Suggestions for Spanish: Rioja, Tempranillo, Grenache; and non-Spanish: Shiraz, Merlot, Pinot noir, Syrah. Since the wine will be combined with fruit and other alcohols, there’s no point in overspending on a fancy bottle, as most of the nuances that you’re paying for will be lost. In fact, making sangria is a great way to use up any bottles you have lying around that you’re not overly excited about opening. There aren’t many bottles of wine in Canada for under $10, so I ended up paying almost $13 a bottle – but the wine was an organic tempranillo, which was pretty perfect. I was wary of the amount of headache inducing sulfites in a cheap bottle of red, so a few extra bucks for an organic wine seemed like money well spent.

Ingredients

• 2 bottles red wine*
• 3/4 cup brandy (preferably Spanish, but any kind will do)
• 1/2 cup orange-flavoured liqueur (e.g. Cointreau)
• juice of one large orange, strained (approx. 1 cup)
• 1 large orange, sliced into rounds (optional: reserve a couple slices for garnish)
• 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
• 1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise (optional: reserve a few for garnish)
• 1 large bottle of carbonated water (e.g. Perrier)
• ice cubes

Details

Adapted from theprimalist.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) In a pitcher, combine all ingredients except for: any fruit reserved for garnish, carbonated water, and ice cubes.

2) Stir to combine. Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap and allow to refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 2 days.

3) Stir the sangria before serving. Pour some sangria into each glass, over ice, leaving room for fruit and water. Transfer some of the fruit form the pitcher of sangria into each glass (e.g. a slice of citrus and a few strawberry slices). Top glasses up with a splash of carbonated water.

4) Optional: garnish glasses with a slice of strawberry and orange.