Summer Samba With Sangria

Doesn't that sound great, dancing on some outdoor patio or a sandy beach to samba and sipping sangria. If you’re not already familiar, expand your horizons and indulge yourself in a favorite of the South Beach crowd (and plenty of others) — sangria. It’s a delightful fruit-based wine punch that kills two birds with one stone — you can get some of your daily fruit requirement along with your daily fun quotient.

Celebration Sangria – Sangria is perfect for big summer parties — always fun and refreshing as well as an ideal thirst quencher.

1 bottle of red wine
(Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 lemon cut into wedges
1 orange cut into wedges
1 lime cut into wedges
2 tablespoons of sugar
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
2 shots of gin or triple sec
1 cup of raspberries or strawberries
1 small can of diced pineapples
4 cups ginger ale

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving.


White Wine Sangria – White Lightining Sangria The beauty of this recipe is that it is as potent as it is tasty, and it only gets better as you add your favorite fruits.

1 bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 cup vodka
1/2 cup white grape juice
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup sliced grapes (seedless, green or red)
1 green apple sliced
1/2 pineapple sliced
2 cups club soda or ginger ale
1 cup strawberries:
Pour wine and vodka in the pitcher and add sliced ginger, grapes, tangerine and pineapple. Next add sugar and stir gently. Chill mixture for at least one hour. Add club soda just before serving.

Sunset Sangria – You can amp up your sangria with hard alcohol and give your punch some extra punch.

1 bottle Rioja
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) spiced dark rum
3 tablespoons orange liqueur
3 tablespoons sugar
1 navel orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 ripe peaches, cut into wedges
3 ripe plums, cut into wedges
2 cinnamon sticks
Combine sugar, rum, orange liqueur, fruits, and cinnamon sticks in large pitcher. Cover with 1 bottle of wine and chill sangria several hours. Spoon fruits into glasses and pour over spiced wine. Top glasses of sangria off with a splash of soda water.