Merlot and Brandy Sangria

I have never tried sangria! I like wine; I like fruit; And I LOVE ginger ale, which happen to all be great ingredients for sangria. It seems sangria would be something I would really enjoy. Well...I do! It's delicious! I made a batch for my 40th birthday gathering and considering there wasn't any left, I'd say others agree that it's some pretty good stuff.

There are a number of ingredients that go into sangria, but it is super easy to make. The main ingredient is wine. I used a boxed wine, although I didn't use just any boxed wine. Bota Box wine is pretty darn good for wine in a box. I would also recommend The Big Green Box. I know, some of you wine snobs are shifting in your seats right now as you read this, but don't completely knock it till you try it. ;) Both of these wines will work great for sangria. They both even make a great 'everyday' wine.

As for the brandy, I honestly don't know a thing about brandy. I used E&J XO Exta Smooth Brandy. I'm not the best judge of brandy, but it tastes pretty good and I suppose that is all that matters.



Mix the wine, brandy, orange juice, and simple syrup in a 6 quart drink dispenser or bowl.

We have a juicer, so I juiced 1 orange for a 1/2 cup worth of juice.



If you don't have simple syrup, it's worth making. Regular sugar won't completely dissolve in a cold liquid and will just end up sinking to the bottom.



Simple syrup recipe for beverages:
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon Karo light syrup (optional)

Directions:
Bring water to a boil, lower the heat to low, add sugar and stir constantly till the sugar completely dissolves. Once dissolved, remove from heat. Add Karo light syrup, stir and let cool. The corn syrup is optional. It gives the simple syrup a creamier consistency which I prefer. Simple syrup is great to have on hand to sweeten any beverage. We store ours in a mason jar and keep it in the refrigerator.

Once you have your wine, brandy, orange juice and simple sugar mixed together, chopping and dicing is pretty much all there is to making sangria.










Let sit over night. Add ginger ale to sangria mixture when ready to serve.

Sangria is not only really good, it looks so pretty! Garnish with fruit for the finishing touch.



Red Merlot and Brandy Sangria Recipe:
52 oz Merlot wine (or 2 bottles)
6 oz brandy (6 shots)
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup simple syrup
2 lemons sliced into wedges
2 blood oranges sliced into wedges
2 Gala apples cored and sliced into wedges
2 cups red grapes cut in half
3 cups pineapple cored and diced
5 12oz cans of ginger ale

Directions:
Mix wine, brandy, orange juice and simple syrup together in a 6 quart drink dispenser or bowl. De-seed and squeeze the lemon and orange wedges into sangria mixture and toss in wedges. Add the remaining fruit and stir. Refrigerate 8-12 hours. When ready to serve, add ginger ale and mix. Serve over ice and enjoy!

Note: You can also add ice to the sangria. I prefer adding ice to the individual glasses. This way the sangria doesn’t get watered down.