How to make sangria. Video by Liddie Martinez
By LIDDIE MARTINEZ
Española Valley
This October my husband Rick and I embarked on a fantastic adventure to Spain. I had been there before but he had not and since he is not enamored with big cities, we designed our trip to skirt the mediterranean sea from the Straights of Gibraltar to Barcelona concentrating on the small, historic communities along the coast. In Cadiz and Jerez we were fortunate to see the dancing Andalusian Horses perform and to get a personal tour of the Valdespino Bodega specializing in Spain’s world renowned Pedro Ximenez Sherry.
We brought home a few bottles and I began experimenting with flavors to develop this new Sangria as a homage to a fantastic journey that included viewing private collections of Picasso’s Art, the gothic splendor of Seville and the magnificent mosque in Cordoba. We witnessed soothing sunsets at the Alhambra in Granada and spectacular sunrises on the beaches of Valencia and the common theme in each unique location was their own version of Sangria.
Sangria’s history originates 2000 years ago in the Roman empire. The Romans planted vineyards across the Iberian Peninsula and, since water was not safe to drink, it was fortified with alcohol. It is likely that the first sangria was a combination of water, wine, alcohol, herbs and spices, probably to mask the taste of very bad wine. In Spain we had several varieties of Sangria including white wine and peach sangria and while that is a perfectly delicious drink for the summer and lighter than the red wine variety, Sangria, from sangre, which means blood, is traditionally made with red wine. Historians mostly agree that Sangria was introduced in the United States as early as the 1800s but became an official cocktail when it was served at the 1964 World Fair.
Most of the Sangria I had in Spain was made with Spanish Tempranillo wine, but I have made mine with a very inexpensive Lambrusco to save my Tempranillo for a special dinner. Sangria is made for the masses- that means a party and you shouldn’t use your best wine to make it. I did, however, use my very good El Candado Pedro Ximenez Sherry to macerate the fruit. Let the fruit sit in the concentrated mix for a day or two in the refrigerator to let the fruit absorb that wonderful flavor then pour it into a punchbowl and add the rest of the wine and some sprite or seltzer water just before serving to give it some effervescence. Make some for your Superbowl Party! The beauty of Sangria is that it can be made well ahead of time.
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup water
1 bottle (750ml) red wine
½ cup oranges, sliced and quartered
½ cup raspberries
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
1 pomegranate
¼ cup Sherry
16 ounces Sprite or seltzer water
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil to make simple syrup. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes then remove from heat to cool. Seed pomegranate and combine the fruit reserving half for serving day. Refrigerate half. When the simple syrup has cooled, place half the fruit in a small pitcher and cover with the sherry. Add the syrup and about a cup of wine and a splash of Sprite. Refrigerate for a day or two but at least overnight. When you are ready to serve, place reserved fruit in a punchbowl and empty the contents of the pitcher into the punch bowl. Pour in the rest of the bottle of wine and add sprite or seltzer water. Serve immediately.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Editor’s note: Liddie Martinez is the author of the popular award winning Chile Line Cookbook: Historic Recipes of Northern New Mexico, which is available online at www.pajaritopress.com.
Sangria. Photo by Liddie Martinez
Sangria. Photo by Liddie Martinez
Sangria. Photo by Liddie Martinez
