Making The Sangria

We had a few of our friends from my fellowship over tonight to enjoy a night where none of us had to work. In order to shake things up a bit from the usual beer and wine, I decided to make a batch of red sangria for us. I was able to find a nice Spanish red wine that turned out great for making sangria: Casa Solar Tempranillo, Spain, 2003 (aged 3 months in American Oak). The basic recipe I used was: 2 bottles (750mL each) of the wine, 1/2 cup of brandy, 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier, 4 tablespoons of orange juice, 4 tablespoons of lime juice, 2 apples diced, 1 orange sliced, 1 lemon sliced, 3/4 cup of extra-fine sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, and finally 2 bottles (750mL) of sparkling water. This made a really nice sangria that we all enjoyed. I think the key is to mix everything except the sparkling water together (make sure you stir it a lot to get the sugar dissolved) and let it sit for a couple of hours to get all the flavors nice and happy together. Then, before you're going to drink it, add the sparkling water.
Overall, we had a really good time. We even got a break in the rain and thunderstorms to enjoy about an hour out on the deck. Nice.

NP: What A Wonderful World, Joey Ramone