If only sangria didn’t need to macerate
Ok, so I was in the local liquor store for some champagne for the aforementioned champagne and fried chicken and I spotted a sparkling shiraz. Normally I wouldn’t have dared, but I was curious and it was marked way down.
Ok, never again. It wasn’t completely foul, but the bite of a red really shouldn’t be backed up with the sparkling fizzy. As my subject line indicates, if sangria didn’t really benefit from at least a 6-8 hour maceration with the fruit and sugar, this would be the perfect wine for a batch. I just found a recipe that uses ginger ale at the last minute and I think I’ll try that sometime soon.
The problem with the bubbles is that you can’t really taste the wine, I got no sense of … anything. No wood, no fruit, just a slight bittersweetness and fizzy. I can feel that it’s gone to my head more than a regular red or a regular sparkling white would, but aside from that I wouldn’t bring it to a party (unless wine in a box were already the norm) nor would I purchase it again. It might pair well with salsa fresca and tortilla chips, but I sure as hell won’t be trying that.
I really need a trip to Best Cellars this week.
This may be bad to admit, but I don’t mind Franzia. It isn’t that bad of a wine…
Actually, Franzia isn’t bad. Boxed wines are making a comeback as winemakers are putting their better tasting blends into them. Just like screwcaps, they’re defying convention.
My local store has some box wines and say that people like them since even with the smallest box they sell, the bag inside holds over 2 bottles worth of wine.
The goal in my recipe is a slight effervesnce, not bubbly. And the overnight maceration makes a huge difference.
I definitely plan to give yours a try. I enjoy the sparkling wines, so I was too curious about a sparkling red. Never again. (at least not one marked down to $6) 🙂
here is a recipe which uses ginger ale. sangria recipe ❗