Summer Berry Sangria

My dad is not and has never been a drinker. It’s not that he ever had a problem, he says he just never liked the taste of alcohol. My mother enjoys her wine and her Tito’s and is grateful that she has always had a designated driver. Once in a while, when we all get together, my mom and sister and I will gang up on Dad and try to get him to drink something. We’ve tried wine, beer, fruity drinks… We even snuck some rum into his virgin Piña Colada once and he could tell right away! The one and only thing we’ve ever successfully gotten Dad to drink is sangria, which he jokingly refers to as “Shangri-La”. So when they come to visit, I like to make this Summer Berry Sangria just for the kick out of watching my dad take a drink of alcohol.

And this is not a sangria for lightweights, I tell you. This Summer Berry Sangria packs a serious punch, so sip slowly. The flavor is luscious and ripe with scents of brandy and vanilla, and it goes down easy – sometimes too easy! It’s loaded with fresh summer berries, plums and juicy oranges. And like every good sangria, it gets better the longer it sits. So I like to make it at least one day ahead to really let the fruit and wine blend together.

How to use Vanilla Bean

Sangria is relatively easy to make, but I’ll admit there are a few little extras with this Summer Berry Sangria that will require a bit more effort. First, we’re using real vanilla beans. If you’ve never seen a real vanilla bean, it looks like more of a long, black twig than a bean. To use it, just run a sharp knife lengthwise down the bean and scrape out the insides. Then discard the outer bean, i.e. the black twig. Real vanilla bean is what takes this sangria into a different stratosphere. You can usually find vanilla beans in the spice aisle at your local grocery store, but if you find yourself in a pinch you can substitute vanilla extract in this recipe. I’ll provide the measurements down below.

The secret to the best Summer Berry Sangria

The other little extra is cooking the fruit down before combining it with the wine and brandy. The easiest way from zero to sangria is to just cut up a bunch of fruit and throw it into a pitcher with wine and let it sit overnight. For this Summer Berry Sangria, take an extra 10 minutes and cook the fruit down a little, allowing the sugars to create a deeper, more syrupy flavor.

This recipe will make two big pitchers of delicious Summer Berry Sangria that your guests will go crazy for. On the off chance that you happen to have any left over, don’t worry – it will keep in the fridge for a week or two, and that boozy fruit will become even more potent! So stir up a batch or two and drink up these last days of summer while you still can. Enjoy!

Summer Berry Sangria

Ripe and luscious with lots of boozy berries, plums and oranges, scented with real vanilla and brandy

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

chilling 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 35 mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 24 oz. bag of mixed frozen berries
• 4 red or black plums sliced and pits removed
• 2 oranges
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 vanilla beans or 3 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup brandy
• 2 bottles red wine
• 1 1/3 cups orange juice

Instructions

 

• Place the sliced plums, berries and sugar in a saucepan. Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla beans open lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and then simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.
• Slice one of the oranges and leave the other whole.
• Off heat, stir in the brandy, wine, orange juice and orange slices. Transfer to pitchers and chill in the refrigerator, preferably overnight. When ready to serve, slice the remaining orange and use it as garnish.

Keyword cocktail

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