Rosé Sangria Recipe | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures

TIP OF THE DAY: Rosé Sangria (Think Pink!)

September 2, 2016 at 8:56 am · Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Recipes, Tip Of The Day, Wine

Shades Of Rose Wine
[1] Rosé sangria, an adieu to the formal summer season (photo courtesy La Marina restaurant | NYC). [2] The many shades of rosé depend upon the grape varietal and the length of skin contact (photo courtesy Jot Dot).

We started the summer season with a rose tasting party, and we’re ending it more quietly, with pitchers of rose sangria. Easy to make, easy to drink, we have a pitcher in the fridge all weekend.

RECIPE: ROSÉ SANGRIA

Ingredients For 12 Cups

2 bottles* rosé wine

1 quart or liter* bottle club soda, seltzer or sparkling mineral water, chilled

1/2 cup agave†, honey, superfine sugar or simple syrup

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup sliced nectarines or peaches

1 cup melon, sliced

2 blood oranges, juiced

1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)

Optional Alcohol

1/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup orange liqueur (types of orange liqueur) – or –

1/4 cup blackberry, blackcurrant or raspberry liqueur (crème de mûre, crème de cassis, Chambord)

________________
*1 quart is 32 ounces, 1 liter is 33.8 ounces, 1 standard wine bottle (750 ml) is 25.4 ounces.

†Use equal amounts of agave or honey, but half as much agave as sugar. Agave is twice as sweet. Always add a portion, taste, and continue to add until the desired sweeteness is reached.

Preparation

Use a 1-gallon pitcher (128 ounces) or other vessel to blend. You’ll be making 84 ounces of sangria (more if you add brandy and liqueur), and also need room for the fruit. We like this oblong gallon pitcher because it fits more easily in the fridge.

1. COMBINE the wine, brandy and liqueur and half of the sweetener in the pitcher. Blend well and taste; add more sweetener as desired. We prefer less added sugar to better enjoy the alcohol and the fruit.

2. ADD the fruit and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day in advance. When ready to serve…

3. Add the club soda, stir gently and serve.

THE HISTORY OF SANGRIA

Sangria appeared in Spain around 200 B.C.E., when the conquering Romans arrived and planted red grape vineyards. While the majority of the wine was shipped to Rome, the locals used some to make fruit punch, called sangria after the blood-red color.

Here’s the scoop.

WHAT IS ROSÉ WINE?

Unlike Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and the other grape varietals, there is no rosé grape. Any red wine grape can make rosé.

The term rosé refers to the pink color that is the result of allowing the pressed grape juice limited contact with red grape skins during vinification, a process known as maceration.

Once it achieves the desired rosiness, the skin contact ends. Extended skin contact products red wine. The juice pressed from red wine grapes is the same color as the juice from white wine grapes: clear.

A rosé wine can be actually be made by blending red and white wine together; however this is not a common process. Most rosés are dry wines made from red wine grapes. Some are sweeter, such as White Zinfandel; but this is an American taste for blush wine rather than a European tradition.

Pink wine, a term that encompasses rosé, blush, and anything else with a pink hue, can be any shade from pale pink to deep rose. It depends on the grape used and the length of skin contact (from one to three days).

Blush wine is an American term that refers specifically to pink wines made from red wine grapes, with only enough skin contact to produce a “blush” of red color.

The term first appeared in the U.S. in the early 1980s, as a marketing device to sell pink wines.

At the time, Americans were not buying rosé wines, while White Zinfandel, a sweet rosé wine, was flying off the shelves (at one point it was the largest-selling wine in America).

There weren’t enough Zinfandel grapes to meet demand, so winemakers had to use other red grape varietals. Pink wines made from other grapes could not legally be called “White Zinfandel,” so a new category name—blush—was created.

American pink wines, whether from Zinfandel or another grape, are typically sweeter and paler than French-style rosés. The term “blush” began to refer to not just to pink wines, but to those that were made on the slightly sweet side, like White Zinfandel.

These days, all three terms are used more or less interchangeably by people outside the wine-producing industry.

NATIONAL SANGRIA DAY IS DECEMBER 20TH.

Mixed Berries
[1] While luscious summer fruits are still in the market, use them in your sangria. You can get apples and oranges any old time (photo courtesy Good Eggs | San Francisco). [2] Don’t forget the berries (photo courtesy Giant Fresh).