Recipe: Summer Berry Sangria
This refreshing wine cocktail, made with crushed berries and red wine, is the perfect last-minute drink to serve to guests.
Serves4 to 6
Prep10 minutes
It’s the time of year when farmers market stands are bursting with gorgeous berries and their sweet smells fill the air. Don’t resist. Go ahead grab a pint of each! If you can keep yourself from eating them all before you get home, make yourself a pitcher of this sangria — the first in a series this month of sangrias inspired by the farmers market.
Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries have this sangria screaming summer! Load it up with ice, top with some chilled club soda, and it’s lovely on a hot summer day — or skip the ice and sip it as is on a cool summer’s evening. Either way, you’ll be glad you did.
Traditional red wine sangrias aren’t something I typically crave in summer. However, I found that using a lighter red wine, like a Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais, is a fabulous base for a summer red sangria. Also, since the berries in this sangria are a bit delicate, this drink is best prepared and served right away, without the traditional overnight infusing.
Tester’s Notes
This sangria is a great twist on the traditional red wine and citrus combination since three types of berries infuse their flavor into the wine instead. I also really liked the sweetness that the honey and cherry brandy added. The club soda helps to lighten it up, which is great if you’re drinking this on a hot day.
– Christine, July 2015
Mixed Berry Sangria
This refreshing wine cocktail, made with crushed berries and red wine, is the perfect last-minute drink to serve to guests.
Prep time 10 minutes
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup
dark honey, like wildflower or buckwheat
- 1/2 cup
cherry brandy
- 1 cup
blueberries
- 1 cup
raspberries
- 1 cup
blackberries
- 1 (750-ml) bottle
Pinot Noir wine
Club soda, chilled (optional)
Instructions
Place the honey in a small microwave-safe bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of water. Microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each burst, just long enough to loosen it and make it easier to mix evenly into the brandy. Transfer to a pitcher.
Add the brandy and stir until evenly combined. Add the bluberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Add the wine and gently stir. You may serve this at room temperature as a still sangria, or chilled and served topped with chilled club soda over ice. Be sure each serving gets some berries too.
Recipe Notes
Since the berries in this sangria are a bit delicate, this drink is best prepared and served right away, without the traditional overnight infusing. However, if you're ok with the berries looking a little muddled, letting the sangria chill overnight — or even an hour or two — really deepens the fruit flavor.