Rosé Sangria
The Instagram darling of the sangria world — and for good reason. Rosé sangria is lighter than red, more colourful than white, and pairs beautifully with summer berries.
Summer Rosé Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle (750ml) dry Provence-style rosé
- 60ml triple sec or St-Germain
- 2 tablespoons sugar or 30ml simple syrup
- 200g strawberries, halved
- 100g raspberries
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Fresh mint leaves
- 200ml soda water or prosecco (before serving)
Method
- Combine wine, spirit, and sugar in a pitcher. Stir until sugar dissolves.
- Add strawberries, raspberries, and lemon slices. Stir gently.
- Refrigerate 4+ hours. Add soda water or prosecco just before serving.
- Serve over ice with mint garnish.
Sparkling Sangria (Cava Sangria)
Replace still wine with sparkling wine for a celebratory, fizzy sangria. This is perfect for New Year's, brunches, and any occasion that feels too fancy for regular sangria but too fun for straight champagne.
Sparkling Cava Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle (750ml) cava, prosecco, or crémant — kept very cold
- 60ml brandy or Grand Marnier
- 60ml orange juice (fresh)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 orange, sliced
- 100g fresh berries or pomegranate seeds
Method
- Combine brandy, orange juice, and sugar in the pitcher. Stir until dissolved.
- Add orange slices and berries. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Just before serving, pour in the cold sparkling wine. Do NOT chill the sparkling wine in the pitcher — it'll go flat.
- Stir very gently and serve immediately in flutes or wine glasses.
💡 The Key Rule for Sparkling Sangria
Prepare everything except the sparkling wine in advance. Add the bubbly at the absolute last moment — minutes before serving, not hours. This keeps the fizz alive. Nothing is sadder than flat sparkling sangria.
Frozen Sangria
Sangria meets slushie. This is the ultimate hot weather drink — basically a wine slushie with fruit. Dangerously easy to drink.
How to Make It
- Make a regular sangria base (wine + spirit + sugar + fruit juice). Chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Pour into ice cube trays or a shallow freezer-safe container. Freeze for 4-6 hours, stirring with a fork every hour to break up ice crystals.
- Alternatively, blend with ice. Pour the chilled sangria base into a blender with 2 cups of ice. Blend until slushy. Add frozen fruit for extra flavour and texture.
- Serve immediately. Frozen sangria melts fast. Pour into glasses, garnish with fresh fruit, and drink before the sun wins.
🍷 Frozen Sangria Shortcut
Freeze a bottle of cheap red or white wine in ice cube trays (takes about 4 hours). When ready, blend the wine cubes with 60ml brandy, 30ml orange juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and a handful of frozen berries. Instant frozen sangria in under 2 minutes. This is the recipe to memorise for spontaneous summer gatherings.
Winter Spiced Sangria
Sangria isn't just for summer. Winter sangria is warm, spiced, and utterly comforting — like mulled wine's more interesting cousin.
Spiced Winter Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle (750ml) full-bodied red wine (Garnacha or Tempranillo)
- 60ml brandy
- 200ml apple cider (not vinegar — actual apple cider or cloudy apple juice)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or maple syrup
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole cloves
- 3 star anise
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 apple, sliced
- 1 pear, sliced
Method
- Combine wine, brandy, apple cider, and brown sugar. Stir until dissolved.
- Add cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and sliced fruit.
- Cold version: Refrigerate 4-24 hours. Serve over ice.
- Warm version: Heat gently on the stove (do not boil — boiling burns off the alcohol). Serve in mugs.
Brunch Sangria (Mimosa Hybrid)
A lighter, morning-appropriate sangria that splits the difference between a mimosa and a sangria. Lower alcohol, higher fruit, maximum refreshment.
- 1 bottle prosecco or cava
- 200ml fresh orange juice
- 30ml triple sec
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Sliced strawberries + orange wheels + fresh mint
- Mix everything except the prosecco. Add prosecco just before serving. Serve in champagne flutes.
Non-Alcoholic Sangria
Genuinely delicious — not a sad afterthought. This is a drink people will enjoy regardless of why they're not drinking alcohol.
Virgin Sangria
Ingredients
- 500ml red grape juice (100% juice, not from concentrate if possible)
- 200ml pomegranate juice
- 100ml fresh orange juice
- 30ml grenadine or 2 tablespoons sugar
- Splash of vanilla extract (optional — adds warmth)
- 1 orange, sliced + 1 apple, sliced + 1 lemon, sliced
- 200ml sparkling water (before serving)
- Cinnamon stick (optional)
Method
- Combine juices, grenadine, and vanilla in a pitcher.
- Add sliced fruit and cinnamon stick. Refrigerate 2+ hours.
- Add sparkling water before serving. Pour over ice.
💡 Non-Alcoholic Wine Option
Non-alcoholic wines (from brands like Torres Natureo, Leitz Eins Zwei Zero, or Oddbird) have improved dramatically. Using non-alcoholic wine instead of grape juice gives a more authentic sangria flavour with better acidity and complexity. They work beautifully in both red and white sangria recipes — just follow the regular recipes and substitute directly.
Seasonal Sangria Calendar
| Season | Style | Key Fruits | Spirit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | White or rosé, light | Strawberries, lemon, cucumber | Elderflower liqueur |
| Summer | Any style, frozen, or sparkling | Peach, berries, watermelon, mango | Triple sec, white rum |
| Autumn | Red, spiced | Apple, pear, fig, pomegranate | Brandy, apple brandy |
| Winter | Red, warm or spiced cold | Orange, cranberry, pear, cinnamon | Brandy, spiced rum |
| Christmas | Sparkling or spiced red | Cranberry, orange, pomegranate | Grand Marnier, brandy |
Quick Variation Cheat Sheet
| Want This? | Do This |
|---|---|
| Sweeter sangria | Add more sugar/syrup, use sweeter fruit, or add a splash of fruit juice |
| Drier sangria | Skip the sweetener, use bone-dry wine, add more citrus |
| Stronger sangria | Add more brandy (up to 120ml per bottle) or use a fortified wine like port |
| Lighter sangria | Skip the spirit, add more soda water, or use Vinho Verde (lower alcohol) |
| Fizzier sangria | Replace soda water with prosecco, cava, or ginger beer |
| More colourful sangria | Add pomegranate seeds, edible flowers, or use a mix of berry types |