White Wine & Cherry Sangria

Welcome! You’re At Isabelle’s—home to all things tasteful and tasty.

I feel like spritzes have taken over as the go-to cocktail of the summer. And while I do love a spritz, I completely forgot about my true favourite summer cocktail: Sangria.

My biggest gripe with a spritz comes down to practicality. When you are serving a crowd, each glass should ideally be freshly topped with soda water and prosecco, which means you are either constantly on drink duty or need to have a little instruction card out for guests. Both are fine, but it’s just another thing on your plate when hosting. On the other hand, if you just want to make a glass or two, you have to open a whole bottle of prosecco, which has a pretty limited lifespan if you want to preserve those optimal bubbles.

But that’s the beauty of sangria. It is quite good right away, but gets even better after a few hours or even a day. There is no need to top it with anything; as long as it’s chilled, it’s good to go. You can prep a pitcher ahead for a crowd, or make one for you and a loved one to enjoy over the weekend. Or heck, make a half batch and use the rest of the bottle of white wine for cooking! Plus, the wine-soaked fruit makes for a nice treat on its own or is delicious spooned over ice cream for an easy dessert.

At the end of the day, I am a girl who loves practicality, but also, I just really love sangria, especially this one.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cherries, pitted and halved

• 2 orange

• 1/2 cup Cointreau

• 1 bottle chilled dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or dry Riesling

Directions

1. Muddle half of the cherries until they begin to release their juices. Slice one orange into thin wheels.

2. Add the muddled cherries, remaining halved cherries, sliced orange, juice from the second orange, Cointreau, and white wine to a large pitcher. Stir to combine.

3. Cover and refrigerate the sangria. Ideally, let it sit for a few hours before enjoying, or better yet, make it the day before. The muddled cherries and fresh orange juice give it a bit of a head start if you want to enjoy a glass sooner!

4. Serve chilled, over ice if desired.

That’s all for now! See you next time At Isabelle’s.