Europe → Spain → Andalusia
🥤 DRINK

Sangria

Red wine steeped with citrus, fruit, and a splash of brandy, served cold over ice.
Spanish · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 0 min · plus 2 h hands-off time
~170 cal · 0g protein · 16g carbs · 0g fat · 2g fiber · 10g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pitcher of red sangria full of orange and apple slices
AI-generated illustration
Sangria takes its name from sangre, "blood", for its deep red colour, and it is the pitcher that signals Spanish summer. At heart it is a thrifty, sociable way to stretch and refresh everyday red wine, lengthening it with chopped fruit, a little sugar, and a splash of brandy or liqueur, then chilling it right down.
The magic is in the soak. As the jug sits, the fruit, orange, apple, peach, whatever is around, gives up its sweetness to the wine and drinks up the alcohol in return, so the flavour deepens and mellows over an afternoon. There is no single recipe; every household and bar has its own proportions.
It belongs to long, shared meals in the heat, an Andalusian afternoon stretching out over a communal jug on the table. Though tourists have made it a cliche, sangria at its origin is simply the easygoing, generous spirit of Spanish summer poured into a glass.
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Make it yours

✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.

Ingredients

Serves 6
  • 1 bottle dry red wine (Rioja or Tempranillo)
  • 1 orange, sliced
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 1 apple, sliced
  • 1 peach, diced
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 2 tbsp sugar or honey, to taste
  • 1 cup sparkling water
  • to serve ice

Instructions

  • 1
    Dissolve the sugar in a splash of water first so it does not sink, then combine it with the wine, sliced fruit, brandy and cinnamon stick in a pitcher.
    ✎ Chef’s note
    Use fruit that is firm rather than very ripe, or it collapses into puree in the jug. And keep the ice out until the moment of serving so the sangria does not water down.
  • 2
    Muddle gently to release the citrus oils.
  • 3
    Chill at least 2 hours (overnight is better) so the fruit soaks.
  • 4
    Top with sparkling water just before serving.
  • 5
    Pour over ice, spooning some fruit into each glass.
Andalusian tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination

📍
Andalusia. Frying is a craft here rather than a shortcut. Fish is dusted in flour and dropped into very hot olive oil so that it seals instead of soaking, a technique generally credited to the Moors, and it is eaten standing up out of a paper cone within minutes of leaving the pan.
🗺️
Spain. Spain grows close to half the world's olive oil, which is why it is the everyday cooking fat from Galicia to Andalusia rather than a finishing drizzle. The groves run for hours across Jaen and its neighbouring provinces, and the oil turns up everywhere, on breakfast toast rubbed with tomato and at the base of very nearly every stew.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.

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Tortilla EspañolaThe potato-and-egg omelette that anchors every Spanish bar, flipped whole, argued about forever.
MarmitakoA Basque tuna and potato stew built on choricero pepper pulp, fishermen’s food, cooked on the boat between catches.
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Good to know

Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Sangria?

Red wine steeped with citrus, fruit, and a splash of brandy, served cold over ice.

Where does Sangria come from?

Sangria is a Spanish dish from Andalusia, Spain.

Can Sangria be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

This Sangria recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.

Is Sangria safe for people with food allergies?

Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.

How long does Sangria take to make?

About 2 h 15 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 0 minutes cooking, plus 2 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.

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