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Sangria is the ultimate party drink. It's easy to customize based on what spirits you have on hand and what fruit is in season. While you may think of sangria as a summer drink, it's perfect year-round, and we have plenty of winter sangria recipes to keep you warm.
The base of any sangria is wine—red or white. From there, you add fruit, like sliced oranges and berries, along with a bit of brandy or liqueur. You can also add extra juice, seltzer, or warm spices like cinnamon. Since the wine is the most important part, we asked bartenders and bar managers for their picks for the best wines for sangria. They also gave us recs for brandies and liqueurs for when you make your favorite sangria recipes, like rainbow sangria, sangria lemonade, and Fireball sangria.
The Best Wines
"When choosing wine for sangria, it’s best to go with something neutral, fresh, and fruity that compliments the fresh flavors of your sangria," said Lynne White, beverage director at New York City Spanish restaurant and tapas bar Boqueria. "Avoid whites that are oaky like chardonnay or reds that are too earthy, like reds from France or Italy."
In terms of price point, White recommends picking a bottle somewhere in the $10-$15 range that you'd be happy to drink on its own. "This also isn’t the time to impress your friends with your best, most expensive bottle of wine, as the beautiful nuances of a great wine will get muddled once you add juice and spirits," she said. "But remember that the wine makes up most of the sangria, so you don’t want to go too cheap."
"At Boqueria, for reds, we keep it traditionally Spanish with a Tempranillo from La Mancha like Campos Reales Tempranillo or a Crianza from Rioja," said White. She also recommends a fruity merlot or malbec.
"For whites, we love the tropical fruit flavors that Spanish Verdejo from Rueda brings to the sangria party like the Marques de Riscal," said White. "An inexpensive Italian pinot grigio is also easy to find at any wine shop and makes a great base for white sangria."
Natalie Pelletier, sommelier at Melanie Wine Bar in LA, tends to reach for a red blend when making sangria, and her current go-to is Avaline's Red Blend. "It already has a hint of spice and some bright red fruit notes, which pairs perfectly with adding some cinnamon sticks, anise, plums, and blood orange slices—a perfectly festive drink.”
Theo Rutherford, Sommelier & Drinks Educator at Bib & Tucker Small Batch Bourbon and Redemption Whiskey, recommends the Josh Cellars Merlot because it doesn't have a lot of tannins. "This merlot is an easy to drink selection with the perfect amount of fruit flavors and little hints of spice," he said. "It is also bold enough to stand up to the fruit and other mixers included in sangria.”
“This wine is macerated with fruits like apples, oranges, and peaches to make a fruit-forward sangria," said Alex Serrano, bar manager at Palo Alto's Teleferic Barcelona.
The Best Brandies And Liqueurs
Other spirits, like orange-flavored liqueur or brandy, are often added to sangria. "Though brandy and cognac can be interchangeable, cognac usually gives off a boozier flavor profile whereas the brandy will complement the flavors and not come off spirit-forward," said Hernan Trujillo, head bartender at J.Bespoke in New York City.
"When choosing a brandy, it is best to go toward a Spanish one made with Spanish grapes," said Trujillo. "I find Carlos I Solera Gran Reserva Brandy to be perfect for sangria." This brandy was aged in American oak casks and has notes of vanilla and caramel.
"Torres has an intense aroma of wood and toasty notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and oak that blend beautifully with the fruitiness of the wine," said Serrano. This award-winning pick is also one of the most well-known Spanish brandies.
“Magdala is a Mediterranean orange liqueur made by stepping on orange peels in grape brandy, then aged in old oak casks," said Serrano. "This produces a silky, aromatic liqueur unlike anything else.”
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