Red Sangria – Love and Lemons

This easy red sangria recipe is cool, fruity, and refreshing. Enjoy a glass on a hot summer day, or serve it at a gathering at any time of year.

If you ask me, sangria is the perfect drink to share with friends – it’s festive, fun, fruity, and refreshing. As cocktails go, it’s inexpensive and easy to make. For a knockout happy hour, mix up a pitcherful, invite people over, and sip cool glasses in the warm sun. Aaah, summer.

These days, you can easily find sangria made with white wine or rosé, but in this recipe, I use red wine to make a more traditional, Spanish-style sangria. Obviously, I love it in the summertime, but because this recipe calls for red wine, it’s a great choice for year-round entertaining, too. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, aromatic, floral, and brimming with fresh fruit. I think you’re going to love it!

Red Sangria Recipe Ingredients

There’s no one way to make sangria, but it typically consists of wine, fresh fruit, liquor, and (sometimes) a sweetener. Here’s what I use in mine:

• Red wine – Look for a bottle of fruity Spanish red wine, such as Tempranillo or Garnacha. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and in fact, it shouldn’t be! You’re going to dilute the wine with other flavors, so there’s no need to shell out here.
• Fresh fruit – I think oranges are a must, and I also love lime for a little tartness. I round out this recipe with crisp green apples and fresh raspberries.
• Liquor – Brandy is most traditional, but I often like to use an orange liqueur like Cointreau or Grand Marnier instead. Add less or more depending on how strong you want your sangria to be.
• Orange juice – Instead of adding a sweetener like brown sugar or maple syrup, I sweeten my sangria naturally with orange juice. I love its full, citrusy flavor with the wine.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Sangria

This red sangria recipe is SO simple to make! Here’s how it goes:

First, prep the fruit. Thinly slice the orange, and then cut those slices into quarters. Chop the apple, and thinly slice the lime. Add this fruit to a large pitcher along with the raspberries.

Next, add the wine, brandy or Cointreau, and orange juice. Stir to combine.

Finally, chill. Pop the sangria in the fridge to chill overnight.

Serve in glasses with ice. Enjoy!

Sangria Recipe Tips

• Don’t skimp on the chilling time. By chilling the sangria, you give the fresh fruits a chance to infuse the wine with sweet, fresh flavor. If you cut this time short, your sangria won’t taste as fruity or as balanced. I let mine chill for at least 8 hours before serving, or overnight for the best flavor.
• Taste and adjust. Whenever you’re making a cocktail at home, be sure to taste and adjust it to your liking. If you prefer a sweeter sangria, add an extra splash of orange juice or a little maple syrup. Like it stronger? Stir in more Cointreau. Have fun finding a balance of flavors you love.
• Change it up! This recipe is great as-written, but feel free to play with it. If you like your sangria to be bubbly, top it off with club soda after it chills. Replace the raspberries or apples with another seasonal fruit like strawberries or pears. Or, for a spiced-up variation, toss a cinnamon stick into the pitcher before you chill it. Let me know what variations you try!

More Favorite Summer Drinks

If you love this red sangria recipe, try one of these summer cocktails next: