Hundreds of thousands of tourists annually make a pilgrimage to Spain in order to find a real gastronomic delight. Often at the top of their wish list is the perfect sangria, the legendary Spanish drink. We, with our inherent curiosity, have decomposed this refreshing cocktail into its individual components and invite you to put them together for the coming summer!
Sangria (eng. sangría from Spanish sangre) is a refreshing wine drink typical of Spain and Portugal, usually consisting of wine and chopped fruit, often with the addition of a sweetener, fruit juices, carbonated drinks and spirits. The term sangria is believed to date back to the 18th century and was taken from the Spanish word sangre (blood), in reference to the red color of the drink. There is also a theory that the word comes from Sanskrit, namely from sakkari (sweetened wine).
When and who invented sangria is not exactly known. Even the Romans added wine to the water so that it would not spoil (reminds me of grog). Herbs and spices were also added there to mask the taste of a mediocre drink at that time. There are many legends about the origin of sangria, ranging from peasant ingenuity to the brave Italian soldier Helio Gabal, experimenting with citrus wine, and later burned at the stake by the Inquisition for his experiments. But the legends are good because they are good-looking, but almost always far from the truth. Most likely, sangria appeared in the Spanish colonies of South America, and from there it came to the neighboring continent.
The worldwide popularity of sangria begins somewhere in America. In the 1940s, sangria, as a chilled wine drink, was promoted to the masses in the United States by Latin American and Spanish restaurants. In 1964, the legendary world exhibition (1964 New York World’s Fair) took place in New York, where in the Spanish pavilion guests were treated to real sangria by restaurateurs from Taberna Madrid. It was at this exhibition that the cult of a refreshing drink was born, which eventually marched around the world and won more than one million hearts.
Anatomy of Spanish sangria
Modern sangria is a wine punch. There are no standards. Classic Spanish sangria is a really boring drink. For the most part, this is red wine with ice, slightly diluted with lemonade or soda. Fortunately, all this is not canonized and there is no end to experiments. But you can create your ideal sangria from the following ingredients:
Red wine (1-2 bottles). Any dry red wine is used, not the most expensive, but one that does not bring unpleasant flavors to the drink. Often, dry white wine, as well as sparkling wines, are used to make sangria. In Asturias, apple cider is used instead of wine. In modern American bars, it is not shameful to replace wine with sake.
Fruits and berries (250-500 ml by volume). Any seasonal fruit, peeled and cut into slices or cubes. Most often used are: apples, peaches or apricots, pears, bananas, watermelons, melons, kiwi. Special attention is paid to citrus fruits – usually only their juice and zest are used, but sliced uXNUMXbuXNUMXbfruits are often added. Grapes and other fragrant berries are welcome.
Sweetener (up to 50-60 ml). You can use sugar (white, brown) and honey. From sugar, so that it does not settle at the bottom of a jug of sangria, it is better to boil a simple syrup.
Spices (optional). Spaniards often use only cinnamon, and even then not always. Non-Spaniards can add any spice they like to sangria: nutmeg, cloves, ginger, etc.
Juices (60-120 ml for 1 bottle of wine). Traditionally, orange and / or lemon juice is used, less often pomegranate juice is added.
Carbonated drinks (120-400 ml per 1 bottle of wine). Lemonade, orangeade, carbonated water, ginger ale, etc. are added to the wine to get sparkling, carbonated sangria after maceration. You can also experiment with homemade iced tea.
Vermouth and strong alcohol (up to 250 ml). Traditionally, a mixture of grape brandy and orange liqueur (Gran Marnier, Triple Sec, Cointreau, or a homemade drink) is used to strengthen sangria. In this mixture, it is better to replace only brandy (for light rum, gin, whiskey, vodka, etc.). Red vermouth looks good in this cocktail.
Garnish (at your discretion). Ready sangria can be decorated with any garnish of your choice. More often these are citrus slices and mint, but why not show your imagination? Jalapeno rings, a bunch of basil, a sprig of rosemary …
We, in turn, offer you such an interpretation of the classic sangria…
Classic sangria
A versatile, comprehensive recipe for red wine sangria and more.
Prepare 10 minutes
Cooking 2 hours
Total 2 hours 10 minutes
Portions 1 a portion
Ingredients
- 1,5 bottles of young red wine table ((1125 ml))
- 2 large oranges
- 1 ripe lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 Art. l. white or brown sugar ((optional))
- 1 green apple ((optional))
- 2 peach or apricot ((optional))
- soft drinks ((lemonade, orangeade or soda, optional))
Instructions
If you decide to use sugar to make the sangria sweeter and softer, dissolve it in 2 tablespoons of water over low heat to create a simple syrup. Be sure to refrigerate it before using.
Rinse the oranges well and before squeezing the juice out of them, cut off a few thick pieces of peel at your discretion. Squeeze juice from oranges.
Do the same with the lemon, but remove only the yellow part of the zest. Squeeze out the juice from the lemon.
In a large pitcher or saucepan, combine wine, syrup, orange juice, lemon juice, and orange and lemon peel pieces. If you are making real traditional sangria (so-called “silent sangria”), add a cinnamon stick to the wine and leave it alone for 2-3 hours to macerate, which will allow the wine to absorb the aroma of citrus fruits and cinnamon sticks. After that, you can pour the drink into a serving jug and add ice.
If you want a more or less modern sangria, add sliced apple and peaches/apricots to the wine, and finally, after a 2-3 hour maceration, you can splash a little of any carbonated drink right before serving to make your sangria carbonated. Pieces of fruit can be pre-mashed with a wooden spoon or muddler.
Field notes
During the maceration of wine, it is desirable to protect it from oxygen in order to prevent oxidative processes. Simply put, while the drink is infused, do not forget to cover it with something.
- use white wine to make white sangria (исп. Clarea);
- use any seasonal fresh fruits and berries to make fruit sangria – cut fruit into slices and crush with a wooden spoon or muddler with sugar syrup;
- use champagne instead of wine (ideally Spanish sparkling wine Cava) to get a variety of sparkling sangria (Spanish: Sangría de Cava);
- use dry cider instead of wineto get another kind of sparkling sangria (Spanish: Sangría de Sidra – this cocktail is prepared in Asturias);
- add up to 250 ml of strong alcohol to your sangria to taste to get a more expressive cocktail.
As you can see, sangria is a very versatile and versatile cocktail, as any national drink with such a rich history should be. Is there an unambiguous traditional recipe for mulled wine that should be prepared only this way and no other way? Even some Spanish modern sangria recipes have up to 20 ingredients. In order not to be unfounded, I offer a recipe for not the simplest sangria with sparkling wine …
Sparkling Sangria (Sangría de Cava)
- 1 large red apple
- 250 ml pineapple, diced (by volume)
- 2 large orange
- 2 Art. l. Sahara
- 250 ml red frozen grapes (by volume)
- 125 ml brandy
- 125 ml orange liqueur
- 180 ml of pineapple juice
- 8 fresh mint sprigs
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 anise star (optional)
- 2 bottles (1,5 l) chilled sparkling wine
- sugar or sugar syrup to taste
In a large pitcher or saucepan, combine sliced apple, sliced oranges and diced pineapple. Add 2 tbsp. l. sugar, lightly crush with a wooden spoon and leave for 10 minutes for the fruit to release its juice. Add cognac and orange liqueur, pineapple juice, mint and spices. Once again, slightly crush everything, especially mint. If possible, leave the resulting mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Before serving, add chilled sparkling wine (ideally the same Spanish Cava wine), frozen grapes and mix well. Sweeten with sugar syrup (or sugar) to taste. Ice can be immediately added to the pitcher where the sangria will be poured, or a few cubes can be added to each glass before bottling.