Red Wine Sangria (5 Ingredients!)

Close up of a round glass of red wine sangria.

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Red Wine Sangria (5 Ingredients!)

This classic Red Wine Sangria is the perfect pitcher cocktail recipe and the only one you’ll ever need! With only 5-ingredients, this red-wine sangria is boozy, fruity and simple! Perfect for entertaining!

Prep Time15

Cooling Time30

Total Time45

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 5-ingredient, red wine, red wine sangria, sangria, sangria with ginger beer, traditional sangria

Servings: cups

Calories: 289kcal

Author: Elise Shivamber

Ingredients

750 Milliliters Pinot Noir *
½ Cup Cointreau
1 Orange
1 Red Apple diced with skin on
¼ Cup Ginger Beer

Instructions

Slice the orange into small wedges keeping the skin on and dice the apple into cubes, avoiding the core. Make sure the fruit is thoroughly washed in advance.
1 Orange, 1 Red Apple
Place the chopped oranges and apples into the pitcher. You can press lightly on the fruit to muddle it and release some of the flavors.
Add the red wine, cointreau and ginger beer into the pitcher. It may seem like pouring the ginger beer in advance would remove its bubbles, but by adding the ginger beer in advance it removes some of the sweetness!
750 Milliliters Pinot Noir, ¼ Cup Ginger Beer, ½ Cup Cointreau
Stir completely and then transfer to the fridge. The sangria should chill for at least four hours and up to overnight.

Notes

* Use any red wine lower in tannins like Grenache, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, or Pinot Noir. If you use a cabernet sauvignon or other red wine that is higher in tannins, it will taste more bitter when cold. Avoid sweeter wines as it will result in an overly sweet sangria (unless that’s your preference!).

Use the best ingredients possible. Since there are only a few ingredients in sangria, the better quality ingredients, the better. Using sub-par ingredients means an eh sangria. Be as choosy as the budget can allow.

Make the sangria ahead. It tastes better when it has time to cool in the fridge. At least 30-minutes and up to a few days before. (If you leave the sangria for too long the fruit will suck up all the alcohol! I wouldn't suggest more than 4-days in the fridge.)

In a rush? No worries, place ice in individual cups and pour the sangria straight over.

Wash your fruit thoroughly.

Don’t go too cheap with wine. The wine is the base of the sangria, so choose a wine that is good enough to drink by itself. I like to choose a bottle for around $8-12.

To add an extra orange flavor, I use Cointreau in this red-wine sangria. Triple Sec is a direct substitute for Cointreau, but I find it more sugary and to cause headaches!

Great fruits to include are: oranges, apples, pears, peaches, berries, or blood oranges. A helpful tip is to see what fruits are ingredients in the wines you choose.

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