Great Sangria Recipe

My neighbor Keri invited me over last evening to try the sangria she had made.  Besides the great conversation, I enjoyed the very tasty drink.

I always thought of sangria as a summer drink but Keri's recipe definitely fits in the fall.  I asked her if I could share her recipe.  She kindly agreed.  Here is her recipe.

Ingredients:

2 honeycrisp apples

One 750 milliliter bottle un-oaked Chardonnay (Keri used Two Vines Vinho Verde - an easier to find and less expensive option)

1/2 cup peach schnapps (Keri used Berentzen Apple Schnapps (Apfelkorn))

1/4 cup orange blossom honey

1 lemon - quartered

1 lime - quartered

2 cinnamon sticks

2 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger

3 whole cloves

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

ice

club soda

Directions:

Peel, core and chop one of the apples.  In a bowl, combine the Chardonnay, schnapps and honey.  Add the quartered orange, lemon, lime, cinnamon sticks, chopped apple, ginger and cloves.  Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours.

Strain the sangria into a pitcher.  Peel, core and finely chop the remaining apple.  Peel, section and chop the remaining orange.  Mix the apple and orange in a bowl.

On a small plate, blend the sugar and cinnamon.  Moisten the rims of wine glasses and dip in the cinnamon sugar to coat.  Fill the glasses with ice.  Pour the sangria until three-quarters full.  Top with a splash of club soda.  Garnish with a spoonful of the chopped apple and orange.  ENJOY!

If you are interested in more sangria recipes, I have a great sangria cookbook by Mittle Hellmich. 

It has recipes for white wine and traditional red wine sangrias.  She has an a apple cider one I may have to try this fall.  Something fun for a fall book club meeting perhaps?!

 "Sangria:  A solution for unwanted wine."  -Deborah Neyens