Name: Italian Sangria
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 4 oz . Italian Dry Red Wine; 1 oz . Limoncello Lemon Liquor; 1 oz . Sweet Vermouth; 1 tbsp . Granulated Sugar; 4 oz . Orange Juice; Ice

This Italian Sangria made with red wine, Limoncello, Sweet Vermouth and orange juice is cool and refreshing on a hot summer day.

When imbibing, my favorite drink of choice is a nice bottle of a dry, Italian red wine. Italian wines are bold, yet smooth and not sweet like other varieties. However, every once in a while I crave something a little more fruity, but I don’t like many spirits. So when I was recently craving a cocktail, I came up with this Italian Sangria made with red wine, Limoncello; which is a lemon liquor, Sweet Vermouth and orange juice. The flavor was deliciously refreshing and is going to be a new favorite.

If you’re not sure which wine to purchase, check out my Wine List for some moderately priced selections, but my current favorite is Cantina Zaccagnini; which is made from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grapes from the Bolognano region of Italy. When making sangria, make sure you use a wine that you would drink on it’s own and don’t mix varietals.

There is nothing worse than a wine headache the next day. Bottles of Cantina Zaccagnini retail between $11-$15 per bottle which make it an affordable choice as well. I also used Limoncello from Sorrento, just because we like the taste the best for store bought; however, if you want to make your own, I have a recipe for Homemade Limoncello you should try as well.

This recipe for Italian Sangria makes two drinks; however, you could also place the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and pour into martini glasses instead and get 3-4 drinks out of this as well. I can’t wait to whip up a pitcher of these for the holidays. It’s certainly a nice, refreshing twist on a classic sangria. ~Enjoy!