Wine. Spirits. Cocktails. Just a few things I like studying, drinking, and writing about.
I thought about this last week as I crammed a couple of articles, admittedly too zonked out for “inspiration” to kick in.
Finally, after barely meeting my deadline on Friday night, I decided to pack up my laptop and head to a nearby restaurant.
All the wine writing and intellectualisation I did last week just made me too fed up to see and drink another glass of wine.
Yes. I am a wine writer who up and got sick of writing about wine one day.
Just to cleanse my palate (both my tongue and mentally), I decided to order something besides a glass of vino.
Once a wine lover, always a wine lover though… As I looked through other beverage options, my eyes settled on Sangria.
Inspiration.
I mean, how perfect is that…? Sangria is a cocktail normally made with a spirit (brandy) and wine (all three things I like writing about).
What is Sangria anyway?
You can trace Sangria’s etymology from a Spanish/Portuguese translation of “bloodletting”. Hence, this is the colour you should expect from the classic recipe.
Sangria these days, however, come in red or white. Heck, I even got experimental enough once to make a pink one.
That’s the beauty of cocktails. As long as you have the base recipe down, you can play around with the portions as you see fit.
Just to give you something to try at home, a standard recipe of Sangria is as follows:
- Chop fruits. The fruits can be lemons, limes, apples, peach, melons, berries, pineapples, grapes, kiwi, or mango… My personal favourite combo is apples, oranges, and pineapples (all fresh, canned ones can taste too artificial).
- Put fruits in a pitcher.
- Add sweetener. It can be honey, sugar, sugar syrup/simple sugar (one part sugar diluted in one part water), or even artificial sweetener.
- Add a little brandy (a 1L pitcher for me would need about 1 jigger, or 3 tablespoons, of brandy). Some people use orange juice or even lemon-lime flavoured soda (Sprite or 7-Up, but I like using brandy).
- Fill with pitcher with red wine. I personally like using Franzia Chillable Red (that way I can forego adding sweeteners), or even their White Zinfandel (again, sweet enough not to add sweeteners) to make it look girly. Some people even use sparkling wine for an added pizzazz.
By and large, any wine will do, although I prefer light Spanish ones (especially for the classic). Just try to avoid using fancy wines for Sangria… It’s too much of a shame to use high-end vino for this.
If you feel that the red wine you used is a little rough, add a bit of white wine.
I like adding a little cinnamon if I use white wine.
I hope these tips help. If you need a benchmark for taste, establishments like Las Flores, Terry’s, and Ark at Salcedo have ones you can try.
Try it at home and let me know how it goes. I’m planning to make tons for an upcoming house party. Cheers!
