Hot Summer Day Recipe: Sangria Sonrisa

The Spanish word sonrisa means smile. And you'll get plenty of smiles when you serve this Sangria at your next get-together. The perfect fiesta drink, this recipe is easy to put together and flexible. Start with an inexpensive red or white wine, add plenty of fruit and some bubbly and you are done. This recipe is light, fruity, and not too sweet.
Serve the Sangria in a clear glass pitcher and ladle some of the fruits into the glasses along with the liquid. It's easy to refresh -- just add another bottle of wine along with a bottle of ginger ale and you're good to go for a second batch.
Serves 4 to 6

Tools: Sharp knife, food slicer (optional), pitcher

Ingredients:

• One 750 ml bottle of red or white wine
• One 12 oz. bottle of quality Ginger ale. I use brands with real ginger and sugar instead of corn syrup.
• 1 cup thinly sliced strawberries
  

Note: wash the outside of the citrus fruit and slice with the skin on.

• 1 medium/large orange, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 medium/large lemon, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 lime, halved and thinly sliced
• One 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks in their own juice.
• approx. 1-2 cups ice
  

Mix:
All ingredients together and serve. You can make this ahead an hour or more, so that the flavors can meld, but it’s not necessary.

Note: Red wine will dye the fruits after it sits for an hour or more, so they will not be quite as pretty when served. If that bothers you, put it in an opaque pitcher. White wine maintains the color of the fruits.

For a spicy option: Slice a fresh jalapeño pepper in half lengthwise and mix with the fruits. The longer the mixture sits, the more picante (hot and spicy) the Sangria will become. (Be Careful!)

Fruit options: Also include watermelon and peaches. I don't think apples go well with wine. Experiment with other fruits.

Try some more of my recipes

Read more about my Hispanic heritage.

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