Sangria
Sangria, by the glass, is 120ml of young red wine, 25ml of brandy, 30ml of fresh orange juice, 15ml of fresh lemon juice and 15ml of simple syrup, rested in the fridge with sliced orange and apple, then poured over ice in a wine glass. About 2.6 UK units a glass. A 750ml bottle makes about six. We suggest resting it for at least an hour, overnight if you can, and not past a day. The fruit gives up sugar and oil to the wine and takes up wine and brandy in return; after a day it starts to break down and the citrus dulls. The name is the Spanish word for bloodletting, in its medical sense, by Cambridge’s Spanish-English dictionary. In our experience recipes vary, with cava in some and peaches in others, and these measures claim only the proportions. Ours has no soda or lemonade: it is wine, brandy, citrus and time.
Glassware: Wine Glass
Garnish: The macerated fruit, ladled generously
Ingredients
120ml
Young, fruit-forward and unoaked, around 13% ABV: Garnacha or a young Tempranillo. Tannin and oak fight the fruit and sugar, and a wine worth drinking on its own is wasted here.
25ml
Spanish brandy if you have it, any sound brandy at 40% ABV if not. It gives the pitcher depth and stops it tasting like fruit juice with wine in it.
30ml
Squeezed the same day, with sliced orange going in as well. Oranges vary in sweetness, which is why the syrup goes in last.
15ml
Squeezed the same day. It keeps the pitcher from turning flat and jammy as it rests.
15ml
One part sugar to one of water by weight, added to taste. Fifteen millilitres assumes average oranges; ripe ones want about half.
Instructions
For a pitcher of about six glasses, combine a 750ml bottle of red wine, 150ml of brandy, 180ml of fresh orange juice and 90ml of fresh lemon juice.
Add one orange, sliced, and one apple, cut into chunks.
Add simple syrup a little at a time, tasting as you go, up to 90ml.
Refrigerate for at least an hour, overnight if you can, and never longer than a day.
Taste, sharpen with a little fresh lemon juice if it has dulled, and serve over ice in large wine glasses, about 500ml, with the fruit ladled in.
Our version
Sangria has no fixed specification; every house fills it differently. Ours is 120ml of red wine, 25ml of brandy, 30ml of orange, 15ml of lemon and 15ml of syrup a glass, rested an hour to a day.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Start it early, but not too early. In our experience an hour chilled is the minimum and overnight is better, but past a day the fruit softens and the citrus fades. The fresh juice steeps with the fruit, wine and brandy, refrigerated, for up to 24 hours; on its own, juice keeps only the day it is squeezed. Taste it before serving and sharpen it with a little fresh lemon if it has dulled. Use an honest, cheap bottle: young, fruit-forward and unoaked, such as a Garnacha or a young Tempranillo. Oak and tannin fight the fruit and sugar, and whatever makes a good wine worth the money disappears under them. Sweeten last and to taste. The 15ml of syrup assumes average oranges; ripe ones can do the work of half of it, and an over-sweet pitcher cannot be brought back.
Behind the Sangria
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
We have found no primary record of who first mixed wine, fruit and a spirit under this name, or when.
Sangría is the Spanish word for bloodletting, in its medical sense, Cambridge’s Spanish-English dictionary says. Since 2014, Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, as retained in UK law, has let a bottled aromatised wine-based drink be sold under the name Sangría or Sangria only if it is produced in Spain or Portugal.
The Slots
Sangria reads better as six slots than as a fixed list: a wine, a spirit, citrus, a sweetener, fruit and time.
The wine is usually a young red, sometimes white or cava. The spirit is usually brandy, sometimes triple sec doing double duty as a sweetener. The citrus is orange and lemon, and the fruit is whatever is in season and cheap.
A drink made for a table and a jug has to absorb what the kitchen has, and the recipe survives because it was never rigid.
Why the Rest Matters
Resting does two things at once.
The fruit gives sugar, acid and oil to the wine, and takes up wine and brandy in return, which is why the orange slices in a rested pitcher are worth eating.
An hour is when it becomes a drink. Overnight is when it gets good. Past a day the fruit starts to break down and the citrus fades, so start it the evening before at the earliest.
One Glass and One Pitcher
Sangria by the glass and by the bottle
Red wine
- Per glass
- 120ml
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- 750ml
Brandy
- Per glass
- 25ml
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- 150ml
Fresh orange juice
- Per glass
- 30ml
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- 180ml
Fresh lemon juice
- Per glass
- 15ml
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- 90ml
Simple syrup
- Per glass
- 15ml, to taste
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- Up to 90ml
Fruit
- Per glass
- Ladled in
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- One orange, one apple
UK units
- Per glass
- About 2.6
- Pitcher, about six glasses
- About 15.8
| Ingredient | Per glass | Pitcher, about six glasses |
|---|---|---|
| Red wine | 120ml | 750ml |
| Brandy | 25ml | 150ml |
| Fresh orange juice | 30ml | 180ml |
| Fresh lemon juice | 15ml | 90ml |
| Simple syrup | 15ml, to taste | Up to 90ml |
| Fruit | Ladled in | One orange, one apple |
| UK units | About 2.6 | About 15.8 |
Choosing the Wine
The instinct to use something decent is wrong, and not only for reasons of cost.
Sangria wants obvious fruit, low tannin and no oak: a young Garnacha, a cheap Tempranillo, anything sold to be drunk this year. Oak brings vanilla and grip that fight the citrus, and tannin turns harsh against sugar.
Whatever made a good bottle worth the money is buried under orange and brandy within the hour.
For a jug built on dark rum and Aperol, see the Spiced Sangria; for a brandy punch made for a bowl, the Fish House Punch.
How to Serve It
From the pitcher over ice, in wine glasses rather than tumblers, with the fruit ladled in rather than left at the bottom.
It is a table drink, so scale it to the table. The fruit at the end is part of the point.
Make it at home
The Spirit
BrandyBrandy is wine, distilled and then aged in oak, and under the retained Regulation (EC) 110/2008 the word on its own means grape brandy of at least 36% ABV, matured for six months or more. Our recipes assume 40%. It is the warm, dried-fruit base of milk punch, eggnog and mulled wine, where a sound young bottle serves better than an expensive old one.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What wine should I use for sangria?
How long should sangria rest?
Can I top sangria with lemonade or soda water?
Can I make sangria without brandy?
Is white sangria a real thing?
How much sangria does one bottle make?
How strong is sangria?
Sources.
Checked between 18 October and 19 October 2026.
- Cambridge Dictionary (K Dictionaries), “sangría (Spanish-English dictionary)” (dictionary: sangría, feminine noun, the medical bleeding of a person or animal: bloodletting).
- legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EU) No 251/2014, Annex II (as retained in UK law)” (Part B point 3: “Sangría” or “Sangria” as a sales denomination only when produced in Spain or Portugal).
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Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026