Summertime is the time of year when I take a break from my normal wine drinking habit. In fall and winter, I like to drink Cabernet or Merlot. Spring and early summer have become the time for Gewürztraminers. But the heat of summer definitely calls for a light and refreshing sangria. It was my dad who actually introduced me to sangria when I was a teenager. He didn’t actually let me drink it, but I remember him ordering it in restaurants after he spent some time in Spain. I was reminded of those times a few years ago when we discovered a tapas restaurant. They served a sangria that I really enjoyed.

Getting ready to make the 4 different sangrias in our taste test.

Last month, we were gearing up to have a large family weekend at our home with mine and Eric’s families here and the family of Kelly’s fiance, Gilbert. We were expecting about 60 people and I wanted to serve sangria but I wanted one that wasn’t quite as sweet as my favorite peach sangria. I searched the internet and found some recipes to try out. So we had a sangria tasting night when the 6 of us (Eric, me, Kelly, Gilbert, Andrew and his girlfriend, Celia) were gathered at home before the annual family summer vacation. I found 4 different sangrias that I thought might fit our requirements, made a batch of each and we spent Friday night, tasting them and rating them. We voted on each entry on a scale of 1-10. We all gave the highest marks to a lemon based sangria made with sparking wine. Not only was it a hit with the 6 of us, it was a hit at our party!

Family and good friends are what it is all about for us!

Limoncello Sangria (adapted from bhg.com) Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup halved fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
• 1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Limoncello (lemon-flavor liqueur)
• 2 750 milliliter bottles sparkling wine, chilled

Directions:

Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and Limoncello. Wash all the fruit, hulling & halving the strawberries. Combine the fruit with the lemon-sugar-alcohol mixture in a large pitcher or jar. Cover and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours to blend the flavors.

Just before serving, add the sparkling wine. Stir and serve in glasses over ice.

Cheers!

Enjoy something light & refreshing for the heat of summer!  ~Linda

Limoncello Sangria (adapted from bhg.com) Serves 10

ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 cup halved fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
• 1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Limoncello (lemon-flavor liqueur)
• 2 750 milliliter bottles sparkling wine, chilled

Stir together the sugar, lemon juice and Limoncello. Wash all the fruit, hulling & halving the strawberries. Combine the fruit with the lemon-sugar-alcohol mixture in a large pitcher or jar. Cover and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours to blend the flavors.

Just before serving, add the sparkling wine. Stir and serve in glasses over ice.