Calimocho
100 ml Red wine, 100 ml Dr Pepper, 1 Lime wedge, 237 ml Ice
Sangria
Red wine, brandy and fruit, made in a jug and best shared.
Refreshing
Easy
10 min
Photo: Glass of Sangria - Tinto Taperia 2026-05-17 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 900 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 900 ml line. Red wine - A young Spanish red - Rioja or Tempranillo - and nothing precious
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Brandy - What gives it a spine; a Spanish brandy if you have one
- 210 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 210 ml line. Orange juice
- 30 ml Jigger One small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a teaspoon. Sugar - Only if the fruit is not sweet
- 6 slices Orange
- 12 slices Apple (optional)
- 1420 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 1420 ml line. Ice
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Fruit and sugar in a jug, brandy and juice next, wine last, then chill.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 2.65 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Slice the orange and the apple and drop them into a jug with the sugar.
- Press them gently with the end of a wooden spoon so they start to give up their juice.
- Pour in the brandy and the orange juice and stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the wine, stir once more, and put the jug in the fridge for at least an hour - overnight is better.
- Fill glasses with ice and pour, making sure everybody gets some fruit.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Sangria
Sangria is less a recipe than a habit: red wine, fruit, a little brandy, and a jug big enough for whoever turns up. Every Spanish household makes it differently, the proportions here are the friendly middle of the road, and the one rule that everybody agrees on is that it should be made well before it is drunk.
Getting it right
Time is the ingredient people forget. An hour in the fridge lets the fruit perfume the wine and the sugar dissolve completely; drunk immediately, sangria tastes like wine with fruit in it, which is a different and lesser thing. Chill everything before you start, then sweeten cautiously - a teaspoon of sugar and a taste, rather than a cup and a hope - because how much you need depends entirely on your oranges and your wine. Use a young, fruity red and keep the good bottle for the table. And do not add ice to the jug: it dilutes the whole thing. Ice goes in the glasses, where it belongs.
Tasting notes
Soft red fruit, orange and a gentle spice from the brandy, cold and easy and dangerously drinkable. It tastes like a long lunch.
Fizzy versions exist - a splash of lemonade or soda on top - and a white version, made the same way with a crisp white wine, is a fine thing in hot weather.