Simple White Wine Sangria Recipe
The Spruce
- Total: 5 mins
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 0 mins
- Yield: 8 servings
194 RATINGS
Light, refreshing, and an easy party drink for summer, white wine sangria is a fabulous way to entertain in style. While this recipe is very simple, there are many ways that you can adapt it to your personal taste as well as seasonal fruits.
Sangrias are easy to make and even easier to drink and each sangria recipe mix offers a unique taste adventure. White wine lovers enjoy the fresh citrus, apple, and tropical fruit flavours that are highlighted by the wine’s zippy acidity.
The white wine sangria takes those basic components and accents the fruit notes by adding fresh citrus fruits. If you want to give this a quick tropical spin, add mango, pineapple, and kiwi into the mix.
Ingredients
- 25 ounces/750mL white wine (1 bottle)
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 3 oranges (cut into wedges; or 1 cup orange juice)
- 1 lemon (cut into wedges)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges)
- Optional: 2 ounces brandy
- 2 cups/1/2 litre ginger ale (or club soda)
Steps to Make It
- Gather the ingredients.
- Squeeze the juice from the citrus wedges into the pitcher. Toss in the wedges after removing the seeds, if possible.
- Pour the wine into a pitcher.
- Add the brandy and orange juice if you’re using them, as well as the sugar.
- Stir very well to ensure that all of the sugar is dissolved.
- Chill overnight to marry all of the flavours.
- Add the ginger ale or club soda just before serving so the sangria retains its sparkle.
Tips
- If you’ll be serving the sangria right away, use chilled white wine and serve it over lots of ice.
- Preparing any sangria, the night before is preferred. You’ll notice a significant difference in the flavour because all of the individual flavours develop into a single, multi-dimensional flavour. This complexity is the signature of a well-made sangria and why we love this punch so much.
Recipe Variations
- Choose Your Wine: A white wine sangria gives you many options to choose from and it’s hard to choose a wine that doesn’t work. A few of the favourite styles for this recipe include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Albarino, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, and Pinot Gris.
- Choose Your Fruit: The citrus fruits included in the recipe are essential to creating a basic sangria. You can add to the flavour with any of variety of fruits. Scan the produce market, choose the best fruits of the season, and have fun with different combinations. In total, you should need only 1 or 2 cups of additional fruit. Two mangoes, apples, or papaya or one pineapple should give you plenty of fruit to work with. A small crate of each berry is perfect, and you’ll probably have leftovers to serve as finger food.
- Choose Your Soda: Even the soda can be customized to your taste. Club soda produces a clean tasting sparkle while ginger ale is a nice option when you want to add a little sweetness. You might even split the pour for one of those and add a cup of your favourite citrus-flavoured soda.
- Add Some Booze: Many Sangria recipes include a small amount of liquor along with the wine. This recipe recommends brandy as an option and this is an excellent way to add to the flavour.
By Stacy Slinkard
Mix up This Sangria for Your Next Party
The Spruce
- Total: 10 mins
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 5 mins
- Yield: 6 to 8 Cups (6 to 8 Servings)
208 RATINGS
This particular sweet Sangria recipe is perfect for big summer parties, fall gatherings, and holiday festivities – always a favourite, you may consider doubling the recipe.
With three forms of zesty citrus, topped with more red berries and diced pineapple, the fruit components marry well and marinate to form a brilliant backdrop to the fruit-forward wines suggested in this particular sangria recipe profile.
Ingredients
- 1 (750 mL) bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
- 1 lemon (cut into wedges)
- 1 orange (cut into wedges)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges)
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- Splash of orange juice or lemonade
- Optional: 2 shots of gin (or triple sec)
- 1 cup of raspberries (or strawberries, may use thawed or frozen)
- 1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
- 4 cups ginger ale
Steps to Make It
Gather the ingredients.
Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange, and lime into the wine.
Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice, and gin. Chill overnight.
Add ginger ale, berries, and ice just before serving.
If you’d like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the fridge – allowing the flavours to really marinate into each other.
Tips
- You can easily double-up on the fruit and mix and match citrus themes or add dashes of your favourite berry-based fruit instead. There is plenty of wiggle room for the recipe.
- Turn the sugar up or down based on personal preference or dietary restrictions.
- Keep in mind that the more time the Sangria fruit and wine have to marinate, the better the final drink. Shoot for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours and a max of 24 hours prior to serving.
Wine Options
Best bed red wines for this party-themed sangria will be ones that carry their own forward red and black fruit themes. Also, don’t spend more than $10 on wine for Sangria, since you are going for the juice and not the layered complexity found in more expensive wine finds.
- Cabernet Sauvignon – look for wines from California, Washington, Chile or Australia
- Merlot – scout Washington and California
- Rioja – Spain’s key red wine region built on the back of the delicious Tempranillo grape
- Zinfandel – not the pink stuff, we are going for the dense red wine, often with peppery undertones. Look for Lodi Zinfandel to grab some warm weather fruit.
- Shiraz – Australian Shiraz, a solid base for this party mix with ripe red fruit and easy-going price points
By Stacy Slinkard