Macheesmo

Guys and gals, it is sangria season. Grab some fruit, a pitcher, a bag-o-wine and get to mixing. And yes, I said a bag of wine. Do they even make wine in bottles anymore?

This is one of those recipes that falls somewhere in between not essential and cool as hell. Can you make great sangria without grilling all the fruit? Of course. But people love grill marks and throwing a bunch of citrus on a hot grill will make your neighbors peek over the fence.

I do think it makes the final sangria taste a bit different. The fruit flavors are a bit more intensified and who doesn’t love grill marks on fruit? Even if it tasted the exact same, it looks damn cool.

Grilled Fruit Sangria

by Nick

Serves:

Serves 12

Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

30 mins

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Grilled fruit sangria with grapes and lots of citrus. A perfect, refreshing drink for summertime! Light the grill and grill up some drinks!

Ingredients

2 cups red seedless grapes

1 naval orange, sliced

2 lemons, sliced

2 limes, sliced

1/2 pineapple, sliced

1.5 liters red wine

1/2 cup brandy

1/2 cup calvados liquor

1/2 cup sugar + 1/2 cup water

Club soda or champagne, for serving

Instructions

1) Preheat grill to high heat or direct heat if you’re using charcoal. Place grapes in a grill pan. Slice citrus 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick.

2) When grill is hot, grill grapes until they are charred and almost bursting, about 6 minutes.

3) Remove grapes and add citrus. Grill citrus for 4-5 minutes per side until it’s nicely charred and has great grill marks. Remove all the fruit and let it cool.

4) Chop grapes in half and roughly chop citrus. Combine all the fruit with the red wine, liquor, and water+sugar mixture. Stir together well and chill for at least 4 hours.

5) Serve sangria over ice with a splash of club soda or sparkling wine.

Grilled Fruit Sangria

The Fruits

Sangria is a pretty flexible beast. You can put almost any kind of fruit in it, but I like a citrus-heavy sangria. Lemons, limes, and oranges are a must for me. I’m not sure I would normally toss in pineapple, but grilled pineapple is delicious so it works well in this version.

• Want a different sangria option? Try my Spicy Sangria cocktail! 

Cut all the fruit into relatively thick slices. You want to make sure they don’t just fall apart on the grill. Somewhere between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch slices will work well.

Grillin’ Time

The only rule for grilling these things is to get your grill hot! If you’re using charcoal, direct heat and lots of it. If you’re using gas, crank it up to high and let the grates get nice and hot.

Rub your grill down with a little neutral oil before you add the fruit so they don’t stick.

The grapes you can just grill whole. if you have a grill pan, maybe use that so they don’t roll all over the place.

After a few minutes, they will start to get blistered and charred and that means you’re in business. The grapes will be near bursting so when you add them to the sangria later they will be really juicy.

You can probably do all the other fruit at the same time. Just try to get everything in one layer so each piece has some direct grill contact.

I do think this changes the flavor of the fruit a bit. It makes each piece a little juicier and also gives a subtle smoky flavor to the drink.

But, mostly, it looks like FIRE.

When all your fruit is grilled, chop up the fruit into big chunks and cut the grapes in half.

If you have a huge container you can add everything together or you can make a few smaller batches in pitchers.

Add the wine (any red blend or lighter, fruity red works well). I really like the Bota Box Redvolution blend if you’re on the hunt for a specific one.

You can use at least half a bag (2 bottles for those classy folks), but you could use more if you want. I like to mix in a little brandy, calvados, and simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar) also.

Classy wine bag action shot!

This will need to chill and let the flavors combine for at least four hours. It’s worth the wait, trust me.

When you serve the sangria, hit it at the end with a little sparking wine or club soda to give it some fresh bubbles.

Light the grills and stay cool!