Sangria brings back memories of college. Back at Mizzou, at one of my favorite spots, Dali’s, sipping half price sangria with John almost every Wednesday night playing MegaTouch Photo Hunt. These little date nights were where I was first introduced to the Spanish drink, consisting of wine mixed with fruit and spices, and ever since if it is on a menu, I am trying it. At Dali’s they served both red wine and white wine sangria; I always had a preference for the red variety. And while I have sampled countless versions, I had never made it at home until this past weekend.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, for the past couple years, John has been making his own wine. This round, he made my favorite, Pinot Noir. With the batch bottled last weekend, it was a perfect time to make homemade sangria. Oh and we were throwing a birthday party at our house, so I would have a captive audience for sampling! I made custom “Scout 2015 Pinot Noir” labels for the birthday party. You know, 2015 was a good year!

I researched Sangria recipes a little, but honestly just sort of experimented. Here is what I came up with, and it turned out pretty tasty. I made a huge amount, but this could easily be cut in half to make a smaller batch. My container was 3 gallons.

Hope you enjoy…

Red Wine Sangria

Ingredients

• 2 apples, cored, skin on, chopped into small pieces
• 2 oranges, rind on, sliced into small pieces, seeds removed
• 6 Tbsp. organic sugar
• 1 cup brandy, plus more to taste
• 2 bottles red wine, your choice (I did Pinot Noir)
• 1 bottle seltzer water (if you prefer bubbles)
• orange juice to taste (I did a cup of orange juice)

Steps

1. In a large jug (mine was 3 gallon), mix wine, sugar, brandy, and chopped fruit into a pitcher and stir. Stick it in the refrigerator for 1 full day. I took it out twice to stir, sugar might settle at bottom.
2. The next day, sample a small amount. Add more sugar, fruit, or booze if not to your desired sweetness or strength.
3. I prefer it bubbly so add seltzer water. If you do too, when you have it as sweet as you like, mix in seltzer water and serve over ice. Skip this step if you like it without bubbles.