If you love a glass of cold, refreshing sangria, then my white sangria recipe is for you! This combination of fresh fruit, white wine, liquor, and sugar creates the most delicious white wine sangria cocktail-- it's perfect for cooling off on a hot day. Try to have just one glass!
If you love sangria, make sure to try my recipes for red, white, and blue sangria and warm spiced sangria. The whole family will enjoy my non-alcoholic sangria, also!
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Introduction
I love sangria and make it for lots of get-togethers in the summer. It's quick, easy, versatile, and one of the most refreshing things you can drink on a hot summer day! (Learn more about the history of sangria.)
I have so many different sangria recipes, but realized I haven't posted most of them on the blog, so it's time to fix that! I'm happy to share my classic white wine sangria recipe with you.
This fruity sangria is made with Spanish white wine, fresh fruit of your choosing, brandy, and the flavored liquor of your choice. You also add sugar for additional sweetness (more or less to your taste), and top things off with sparkling water. It's as simple as it sounds!
Ingredients
Curious what ingredients you need to make a refreshing batch of white sangria? Fortunately, this easy recipe doesn't require anything fancy.
- White Wine: Always use a good, drinkable wine to avoid a headache. I generally use a dry, fruity Spanish wine such as an Albariño. (Read more about Spanish wine.)
- Fruit: Use a combination of mostly white fruits, such as apples, nectarines, peaches, and grapes. I love adding strawberries for color and flavor. Other berries don't really add much flavor unless they're muddled, so I skip those here.
- Sugar: It's best to use fine white sugar if you want all of the sugar to dissolve.
- Brandy: I love using Spanish brandy in my sangria (it's also made from grapes, so I think it's the best alcohol you can add!).
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Wine: Try a Rueda or a Sauvignon Blanc. Experiment with less fruity wines, or try it with manzanilla or fino sherry. If you'd prefer it with something fizzy, cava and prosecco work too.
- Fruit: Pineapple and mango would taste delicious with this sangria, and starfruit slices would be a gorgeous garnish!
- Sugar: Brown cane sugar won't dissolve unless cooked into a simple syrup, and it would also add a brown tinge to the drink. If you want to substitute the white sugar, use whichever swetener you like best. Honey, date syrup, and coconut sugar all work well.
- Brandy: Feel free to swap it out for the vodka or gin of your choice.
- Liquor: You can skip the extra liquor, or simply add more brandy, but I love experimenting here. I often add orange or raspberry liquor, and this time added lime liquor.
How to Make
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Start by slicing the fruit. Aim for about 3 cups of sliced fruit.
- I used half of a large apple, half of a white nectarine, a handful of strawberries sliced lengthwise, and a small bunch of green grapes sliced in halves.
- Put all of the fruit in a bowl and cover it with sugar, then toss to combine.
- You can macerate the fruit in the sugar as long as you're able -- it isn't essential, but it does bring out a lot of extra flavors.
- When the fruit has released some of its juices, it will be ready to go.
- Add the brandy.
- Add the liquor.
- At this stage, you can let it soak as long as you'd like, or if you're in a hurry, use immediately!
- Add the chilled white wine and the soaked fruit to a large pitcher.
- Gently stir everything together with a wooden spoon.
- Prepare your glass with ice cubes and spoon in a portion of fruit.
- Fill the glass almost to the top with the wine, leaving about two fingers of space.
- Add sparkling water to fill the rest of the glass.
- Enjoy this white sangria immediately!
Recipe FAQs
Sangria's key components are wine, fruit, a fortifier (higher volume alcohol like brandy or liquor), a sweetener, and something fizzy (which isn't part of the original sangria recipe). You can experiment when it comes to these ingredients until you find the recipe that works best for you.
I like using a dry and fruity white wine for sangria, such as Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, or Rueda. Pinot Grigio and Riesling would work too. Make sure the wine is drinkable on its own; that is the key to good sangria!
This white sangria recipe calls for brandy along with an optional sweet liqueur, such as orange, lime, or raspberry.
I like to think of sangria as similar to a strong beer; it should be around 5-10% ABV when made correctly.Â
The fruit should infuse with the wine for at least 2 hours in the fridge, but it would be even better if it sits overnight.
Serve
Sangria goes with just about any Spanish tapas you can imagine! I especially love serving sangria as part of a summertime tapas feast featuring homemade salmorejo, patatas bravas, croquettes, padrón peppers, Spanish meatballs, pinchos morunos, and boiled shrimp.
It's also fantastic as part of a lunchtime paella feast. Try my classic Valencian paella or my popular seafood paella to start.
Store
Make Ahead: It's definitely easier to make sangria in advance. You can prepare the fruit mixture the day ahead and let it macerate in the fridge overnight for the best flavor, or you can prep the entire sangria in advance and let the fruit infuse in the wine overnight.
Leftovers: Sangria will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge with the fruit, and for up to 1 week in the fridge without the fruit.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to use a good quality wine to reduce the chance of a headache. However, don't choose one with complex notes, as you want the infused fruit flavors to be dominant.
- Experiment with different wines, liquor, and combinations of fruits for a delightfully different result.
- Letting the fruit macerate in the fridge overnight if you have time will enhance its natural flavors and significantly improve the sangria's flavor.
More Delicious Sangria Recipes
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White Sangria Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bottle good quality white wine, chilled such as Albariño
- 3 cups mixed fresh fruit, sliced such as apples, peaches, grapes, and strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brandy
- ¼ cup fruity liquor of choice
- ice cubes
- sparkling water optional
Instructions
- Wash and slice the fruit as desired. I recommend slicing the grapes in half, and other fruits into cubes or thin slices.
- Place the fruit in a large bowl, add the sugar, and toss gently. Leave to macerate for at least 5 minutes, but preferably overnight in the fridge. Toss occasionally as the fruit macerates to encourage the sugar to dissolve.
- Stir the brandy and liquor into the macerated fruit, then place the mixture in a large pitcher. Fill it three-quarters of the way with the chilled white wine, then stir gently to combine.
- Let the fruit infuse the wine in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight, for the best flavor, or serve immediately if you're in a hurry.
- To serve, fill a large glass with ice. Add some of the soaked fruit to the glass, then fill with the wine, leaving about a centimeter of space at the top. Fill the glass the rest of the way with sparkling water and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- Be sure to use a good quality wine to reduce the chance of a headache. However, don't choose one with complex notes, as you want the infused fruit flavors to be dominant.
- Experiment with different wines, liquor, and combinations of fruits for a delightfully different result.
- If you have time, let the fruit macerate and the sangria infuse overnight, as this will significantly improve the sangria's flavor.
- Sangria will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge with the fruit, and for up to 1 week in the fridge without the fruit.
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Christine Jopp
Love this, I add liquor 43 to mine