Cocktail Recipe: Cucumber, Ginger & Prosecco Sangria

Farmers markets offer so much more than just fresh fruits and veggies. These days you can find everything from local cheeses to honey, and this sangria recipe was inspired by all of the above.

On a recent trip to my local market, I stopped for chats with a cheesemaker, a farmer, and an apiarist (beekeeper), and left with a bag full of cucumbers, a log of fresh goat cheese, and a jar of local honey. A quick pit stop for a bottle of chilled Prosecco and I was well on my way to a refreshing happy hour.

Sangria doesn’t have to be super sugary — in fact, all of my recipes lean to the lighter, brighter side. For this one, I used a honey syrup instead of the traditional sugar, added spicy notes of ginger, and finished things off with refreshing bubbles from a sparkling wine.

You can use cava in place of Prosecco, if that’s what you have on hand; any light bubbly wine will work. Garden-fresh cucumbers make this drink pretty and lend nice aromatics and a taste of summer to your pitcher.

Serve this sangria alongside some fresh cheese, like a soft goat cheese drizzled with local honey or a fresh mozzarella topped with really good extra-virgin olive oil, and voila — all you have to do is invite a few friends over to make this a perfect happy hour.

This light and refreshing sangria is like cucumber water but much, much better. I wanted to drink the honey, ginger, and lemon syrup on its own, but it was a great combination to add to the cucumber slices, brandy, and fizzy Prosecco. It’s an elegant cocktail to serve out on the porch before dinnertime!

– Christine, July 2015