I start classes again today; I’m definitely not looking forward to early mornings and looong days full of sitting in the same two lecture halls again. So I’m going to pretend it’s still summer vacation with this peachy sangria!
I love, love, love making sangria for parties. I prefer white wine based sangrias during the summer and red wine based sangrias in the winter. It’s never the wrong time for sangria! Just fill up a big punch bowl for serving it up – it’s always a hit!
Over the weekend, my friends, Lin and Jaclyn, and I went to one of our favorite wineries (Victorianbourg Estate) in the area to stock up on wine for the semester. I held back a good bit, since we have a pretty full wine rack, but this winery doesn’t sell any of their wine in stores, so it was my only chance to get it! I picked whites that we generally don’t buy – grüner veltliner and pinot grigio – instead of my usual choice of riesling to mix it up a bit. I also grabbed one of their peach flavored whites, Pechette, that is the perfect sparkling summer wine. As we stopped for lunch on our way back, the cork popped out of the Pechette from the heat in the car – yikes! Thankfully, the bottle was standing up, so there was no spillage, and so I immediately made my peachy sangria with that wine instead of moscato like I usually would use. Extra peachy and super delicious.
If you don’t have a peach flavored wine, I recommend using a sweet white like moscato, which is what I always use so that I don’t need to sweeten it extra. I make it peachy with peach schnapps (or peach vodka), and add some sparkle with seltzer. Throw in some peach slices and halved grapes, and you’ve got yourself a wonderful treat.
This sangria is the perfect refreshing drink to end the summer. I recommend making sure guests have forks so they can dig in once all their drink is gone into the delicious wine-soaked fruit! Nothing better than an extra-juicy peach with an alcohol buzz.
Do you like serving wine spritzers or sangria at parties? What are your favorite fruit flavor combinations?
- 1-750 ml bottle sweet white wine (moscato is a great choice)
- 1 cup peach schnapps (or peach flavored vodka)
- 2 cups seltzer
- 2 peaches, sliced*
- 1 cup grapes, halved*
In a large pitcher, combine the wine, schnapps, and fruit. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight) for flavors to develop. Chill the seltzer separately.
Immediately before serving, stir in the seltzer. Serve and enjoy!
To keep the sangria cold at a party, you can also use frozen fruit (freeze sliced peaches/halved grapes for about 20 minutes) instead of ice so it doesn’t get watered down.