Red wine drinkers face a familiar summer dilemma: switch to white or sweat through a glass of Rioja. The Spanish, ever resourceful, have found the perfect workaround: turn red wine into punch and add more booze. ¡Hurra! Sangría isn’t just a beverage—it’s a chilled, boozy celebration of comfort, cleverness, and seasonal rebellion. If you haven’t tried this fruity marvel, stop everything and whip up a batch. The fridge does most of the work. The rest? Pure joy.

Classic Sangria

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1/4 cup of brandy
• 1/4 cup of triple sec
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 large naval orange
• 1/2 large lime
• 1 sweet apple, like gala or fuji
• 1 750 mil bottle sparkling water

Preparation

• In a large pitcher, add the wine, brandy, triple sec, and sugar.
• Squeeze the juice of both the lime and the orange into the pitcher. Watch for seeds.
• Slice up the orange, lime, and apple into thin slices. Add them to the pitcher.
• Stir the pitcher to blend all the ingredients and move the fruit all through the solution.
• Refrigerate for about 2 hours.
• When you are ready to serve, add the sparkling water and stir.

I like to ask guests if they want fruit in their sangría or not. Some adore nibbling on boozy chunks of orange and peach, while others feel like they’re sipping a fruit salad with a side of alcohol. Either way, the choice is yours—¡libertad en la copa!

Now all you need is a pool floaty, a bathing suit, and one of those gloriously ridiculous sun hats. Float, sip, repeat. This is the good life.

¡Salud!

~Crunchy