Red Sangria Recipe

Wine lovers rejoice! Today we’re whipping up a classic red sangria recipe. This festive drink is perfect for parties and gatherings, and best of all, it’s easy to make. So grab your favorite bottle of red wine, and let’s get started!

Sangria is the perfect way to serve drinks to a crowd when you’re having a backyard party. Especially if it’s a hot summer day when it might be too warm for a glass of wine.

This fruity wine punch is an easy batch cocktail recipe that’s perfect for an outdoor barbeque during the summer months. If you’re a sangria fan already, check out a lighter version of sangria White Wine Sangria.

What is sangria wine?

Traditional Spanish Sangria is made with red wine and brandy and is sweetened with a little bit of fruit juice and sugar. Fresh fruit is added to the sangria pitcher to marinate.

Serve over ice and garnish with fruit from the pitcher. You can also add carbonated water to give the sangria a few bubbles.

Recipe for sangria

There are a lot of ways to make sangria. The essential ingredients are red wine, liqueur, fresh fruit, and a little sweetener. You can use either fruit juice or sugar, and sometimes both.

Here is what I use in my red wine sangria recipe.

• Red wine: 2 bottles of red Spanish table wine. Rioja wine is usually the wine that I use.
• Liqueur: 1 cup brandy and 1/2 cup triple sec or similar orange liqueur.
• Fresh Fruit: Orange slices, lemon slices, apple slices, and blackberries.
• Fruit juice: 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice and 1 cup pomegranate juice 
• Sweetener: 1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste. I usually leave this out. You can also use maple syrup.
• Club soda for serving.
• Ice.
• Orange wedges for garnishing,

What fruit do you put in sangria?

Fresh seasonal fruit is always best. Oranges and apples are a constant when making classic sangria with red wine. Peaches and mangos can be used to create a white wine sangria. Strawberries and plums pair well with rosé.

Summer fruits are:

• apples
• berries
• cherries
• melons
• mangos
• nectarines
• peaches
• plums

Best Wine For Sangria

Inexpensive Spanish red wine is best for sangria. Rioja or Garnacha is my go-to affordable wine choice. For red sangria, other wines you can use are pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon.

You want to choose a wine that could be drunk on its own, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive bottle.

Substitute for brandy in sangria

Brandy is the liqueur that is traditionally used in a Spanish sangria recipe. But you can feel free to switch it up. I like to choose a liqueur that complements the fruit that I am using.

• Orange liqueur like Triple sec or Grand Marnier works well with citrus fruits.
• Blackberry brandy complements blackberries and plums.
• A peach liqueur, like peach schnapps or Drillauds peach liqueur, is delicious if you want to make a white wine sangria with peaches.
• A strawberry liqueur, like Drillauds Strawberry, is excellent with a Rosé wine and strawberries.

How To Make Sangria

Mix all ingredients in a tightly sealed container or a large pitcher, covered with plastic wrap, and let stand for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving. 

How To Serve Sangria

Sangria is traditionally served over ice and garnished with fruit from the pitcher.

You can also feel free to add soda water to the sangria if you’d like it a little bubbly.

Garnish each glass with a wedge of fresh orange.

Sangria Variations

Once you’re familiar with what goes into the traditional sangria recipe, you can play around with the ingredients and create your favorite version of sangria.

Sangria can also be made with white or rosé. You can use different flavored liqueurs that complement the fruits you are using.

A few common versions of sangria are:

• White sangria
• Peach sangria
• Watermelon sangria
• Sangria with rosé

Check out more sangria recipes!

What to Serve with Sangria

A frosty pitcher of sangria pairs well with Mexican Food, Spanish Tapas, and Grilled Meats. It’s the perfect beverage to serve at all of your summer parties.