White Strawberry Sangria
White Strawberry Sangria
Sangria is the perfect summer drink as it is both elegant and pedestrian at the same time. During the summer you don’t even have to leave the city to get great deals on local produce, as many major supermarket chains make deals with local farms to sell strawberries, blueberries, peaches and other seasonal fruits. The strawberries I bought at my local Stop and Shop were $2.99 buy one get one free. Lemons and limes are also often on sale as they are imported in bulk from the south. You don’t need a great bottle of wine for this drink- in fact I’ve found that cheaper wines often benefit the mix more as they don’t contribute as many bold (but in this case intrusive) flavors as their more expensive counterparts.
For sangria you will need either a large carafe or pitcher, as well as large white wine glasses. The carafe pictured has a removable top and pour spout and was purchased for only $4 at Walmart. The cut glass pitcher pictured I picked up at a sidewalk sale for free (!) in Brookline. July and August are great months to expand your collection of glassware through sidewalk sales because many people are moving and are looking to downsize their own collection or are loathe to pack all their glassware!
White Strawberry Sangria
1 lb Package of Fresh Strawberries
3 Limes
2 Lemons
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 1.5 Liter Bottle of Affordable Dry White Wine (Pinot Grigio works well)
1/2 Cup White Rum (Bacardi works well)
4 Cups of Ginger Ale (or Lemon Lime Soda)
Reserve a handful of strawberries, one lime, and one lemon for garnish. Rinse and Quarter remaining strawberries. Rinse and cut lemons and limes into thin slices width-wise, and deposit with strawberries into your carafe or pitcher. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and gently mash with a wooden spoon. Pour in wine, rum and soda, and stir well. Serve in white wine glasses with equal parts ice and sangria, and garnish with slices of strawberry, lemon and lime from reserved fruit.