I don’t know why, but toward the end of the summer I developed a taste for sangria again. Maybe because it was a delightful way to cool off on those hot summer days and nights. I’ve been playing with the recipe and have created this refreshing variation on the traditional mix!

I hope you enjoy it.

Caridad’s Sweet and Sexy Sangria

Ingredients

1 bottle red wine (a Malbec, Rioja, Cabernet or Pinot Noir will do. Maipe Malbec is great and sub $10 at Costco)
1/2 bottle Chilled Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider (or any other sparkling cider)
2 oranges
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup grapes

Directions

• Peel oranges. Cut into eighths and then cut the eighths in half. Cut grapes in half. Cut frozen strawberries in half.
• Place fruit into a pitcher and add wine. Let fruit and wine macerate for at least 10 minutes in the refridgerator. If you can wait longer, the flavors will be better.
• Add chilled sparkling cider to fruit and wine mixture.
• Remove some fruit from this mix and place in individual glasses. Pour wine/cider mixture into the glass and serve.

What I like about this mix is that you get the extra fruitiness and sweetness with the addition of the cider and don’t have to add sugar to get that.

Some recipes call for lemon in the mix and also don’t ask you to peel the citrus, but I find that the lemon and the peels make the mix too acidic. For a change of pace, cube some apples and toss them in or go even more tropical with some pineapple and changing to a white wine.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip.

Don’t forget to drop by Julia Amante’s blog for a chance to win a copy of SINS OF THE FLESH and a T-shirt. You can click here to visit Julia Amante’s blog.