[ individual sangria with sharon ]

May 31, 2012 alec vanderboom

I'm super excited to be guest posting (again!) for Lauren while she is on her honeymoon! I'm sure she is having a blast! I'm a white wine lover and the idea of sangria is so appealing to me. White wine mixed with fruits and juices. Doesn't that sound so refreshing and tropical? And you can totally have ice in your glass of wine and it's not considered trashy. Yeah! But sometimes I want the flavors without having to prepare a full pitcher hours ahead of time. So I decided to see if I could work out a delicious recipe with smaller quantities that doesn't need to sit for hours. Sangria, as it is traditionally made, allows you to get a few extra servings out of the wine bottle because of adding the extra juices. Although I used a single serving sized bottle of wine for this, is might not all fit in to one wine glass. But this should still be considered 1 serving. Don't you dare try to share. You can do anything you put your mind to. Drink up.

Most sangrias are made up of fruit, citrus and a sweet wine. This is no different. You will need a few types of citrus fruits, a small can of pineapple juice and a bottle of wine (I used a Moscato. Most often the tiny wine bottles only come in champagne or chardonnay so I was happy to find a sweeter option). The recipe is as follows but really can be made to your tastes and liking. If you have leftover lemon juice from a recipe feel free to use that. Similarly, if you have guava nectar in the fridge, super yummy! Be creative. I really wanted this to have passion fruit juice in it because it is my fave, but they don't sell that in small quantities so I didn't use it.

1 bottle single serving sized sweet wine (Moscato or Reisling if you can find it)

3 TBSP fresh squeezed OJ

2 TBSP fresh squeezed lime juice

1 TBSP pineapple juice

1-2 strawberries, chopped.

Cut up the strawberries and add them to whatever glass you are using. Add the juices to the strawberries and muddle them together. You don't want to totally beat the crap out of them, just get them to release some flavor but keep them as little bites. Add the wine and give a gentle stir. Add ice if you want the drink extra cold and refreshing but if all your ingredients had been prechilled, you can probably skip the ice (and keep your dignity in tact. Kidding!).

Sangria is usually made hours in advance to help the flavors meld together. If you use some flavorful ingredients with the strawberries, which seem to soak up the wine in a lovely way, and some bright citrus flavors, then you can make a really tasty drink in no time at all.

One time I made a pitcher of sangria and then our dinner guests cancelled. What a waste. For them!! I had the entire pitcher to myself. But we can't always be that gluttonous and that is why the recipe above is the perfect solution.

thanks sharon! i plan on sharing a FEW of these with you when i get back!