my (ney's) twist on SANGRIA

I mentioned drinking Sangria in this post and I think it's time to share the recipe, don't you. Classic Sangria calls for red wine (usually a Spanish wine), lemon, orange, sugar, brandy, ginger ale or club soda. I figured my end goal was a delicious, light, bubbly, drink with lots of fruit and all the undertones of the red wine. So here's what I ended up with:

3 bottles of chilled Charles Shaw Shiraz 

2 bottles of Sparkling Blood Orange Juice (can be found at Trader Joe's, BevMo, and most grocery stores)

6 shots of Triple Sec

a bottle of seltzer water

juice of 3 oranges

juice of 3 limes

[cheap wine or champagne almost always works better than the expensive stuff when you're using it in a mix]

I also used LOTS of fruit to soak in the Sangria as well as on the side as garnishes. The fruit I used was mango nectarines (a new find at the Farmer's Market), white peaches, plums, cherries, limes, oranges, and Fuji apples. 

When it comes to entertaining, I always feel that the presentation is almost as important as the end product itself.  My husband would definitely agree being the design and marketing guy that he is. I decided to stick with the farm fresh, easy-going feel. 

[garnish] 

[sangria bonita!]

[the set up]

This was my first time making and creating this recipe and I have to say I was very please from the start to the finish. Cheers!

*all photos taken for by way of ney