Peach Sangria

My sangria is why I get invited to parties what people always ask me to bring to their parties. I brought this to my friends' Labor Day BBQ last weekend. I actually have special portable sangria pitchers for such occasions. I am serious about my wine cocktails, ok?

I also make a lovely red sangria, which we'll get to one of these days, but let's hang onto summer a little longer and talk about the peach sangria. This sangria is a bit sweeter than a red, and people who don't really even like wine that much (weirdos) love this. I was able to get a few end-of-season peaches at our farmer's market which I pulverized into peach puree using a stick blender. If you can't get good peaches, I've also used peach nectar (Goya makes this; it's usually in the International Foods aisle at the supermarket).

Don't buy expensive wine for this. Does it have a twist-off cap? Good-use it. Cheap Spanish table wine or a Sauvingon Blanc (I used the $3 Trader Joe's variety) will do nicely. As for the hard alcohol in this recipe, I usually leave out the brandy, but will sometimes substitute with Peach Schnapps or citrus vodka.

My favorite part of making sangria is cutting up all of the fruit. This recipe calls for sliced peaches, oranges, and apples, but feel free to throw in whatever you want. Berries, melon, or other citrus fruits would all work here. And most importantly... let the sangria sit in the fridge for several hours (preferably overnight) before you serve it. Trust me on this... if you taste it right after you mix it together, it's not going to taste that great. One day later, however, you will have something life-changing on your hands. Oh, and you might want to make a double batch.

Peach Sangria
adapted from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients:
1 bottle white wine
3 ounces brandy (optional)
2 ounces triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
2 ounces simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil for 2 minutes in a small saucepan) and cooled (leftover syrup can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 month)
3 ounces white peach puree (peel peaches, remove pit and puree in a blender with a small amount of water)
Fresh peaches, oranges, and apples sliced

Directions
Place all ingredients in a pitcher and stir to mix. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 48 hours. Serve over ice.

Download a printable recipe.
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