Virgin Sangria
Red grape juice, orange and cinnamon, made in a jug an hour ahead.
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. Grape juice - Dark red, unsweetened, and the closest thing there is to the wine it replaces
- 300 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 300 ml line. Orange juice
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Lemon juice
- 6 sticks Cinnamon
- 12 slices Orange slice
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Soda water - Added at the last moment, per glass
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
- Steep the juices with cinnamon and orange in a jug, then top each glass with soda.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 1.65 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.
- Pour the grape juice, orange juice and lemon juice into a jug with the cinnamon stick and the orange slices.
- Leave it in the fridge for at least an hour - longer is better, and overnight is best.
- Fill a large wine glass with ice and pour the jug over it, leaving room at the top.
- Top each glass with soda water and some of the fruit from the jug.
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.
Virgin Sangria
Sangria's method is more interesting than its recipe. Steeping fruit and spice in wine for an hour is what makes the drink taste like something, and the same trick works perfectly well without the wine - red grape juice picks up cinnamon and orange the same way, and the drink ends up fresher and lighter into the bargain.
Getting it right
Give it the hour. Grape juice and orange juice poured together at the last moment taste like two juices in one glass, and left to steep with cinnamon and orange they taste like sangria. Unsweetened grape juice is worth looking for: sweetened juice makes a syrup. Keep the soda water out of the jug - it goes flat - and add it glass by glass. A jug of this with the fruit in it is the best thing to put on a table outside.
Tasting notes
Deep and wine-like, with the sweetness of the grape, a cinnamon warmth underneath it and the orange coming through at the end. It is the only drink here that can be made in advance and tastes better for it.