My Saucy Sangria Recipe Video

Check out the video for the ingredients.

YESTERDAY, a handful of my friends dropped by and surprised me at the last minute. I bolted to the kitchen and broke out some food and drink. One of them suggested that I make my famous pitcher of Sangria. My Saucy Sangria is inspired by my summer pub crawls in VALENCIA SPAIN. Family friends had a condo on the beach when I was in college. The Velasquez Sisters’ mom was a strict chaperone and she knew my mother.  In the states, my curfew was always midnight. In Spain, I could stay out as late as 2 am. Ironically, our chaperone was considered old fashioned.

One night me and Julia Velasquez met some cute guys who offered to show us around town. We met them at a club the night before. Somehow the Mrs. got wind that the guys were of ill repute because they were young, handsome and players.  We didn’t want to date them, we just wanted to have fun. She forbade us to go out with them. But we had already planned on meeting up at a public place and had no way of reaching them. This was long before cell phones and it would have been rude to stand them up. We’d go, have ONE DRINK and explain that we couldn’t go out with them.  When we arrived at the bar, they were as charming as we remembered. Instead of obeying the rules, we immediately decided to party on. First stop, a zumo bar.

On any given night after dinner, the Spanish spilled out onto the promenades sharing pitchers of Sangrias.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they have dozens of Sangria recipes on the menu. The base may vary from red, white or sparkling wine.  Different combinations of seasonal fruits are key ingredients that distinguishes each Sangria’s flavor profile. In addition, their secret ingredient was a huge splash of Spanish Cognac, Gin and Vodka.  

After a COUPLE OF PITCHERS, it was easy to lose track of time. Not that we were concerned, but it’s always nice to know what day it is. 

Before we knew it, we agreed to head up into the hills for a Chalet pool party.  Schweppes and Whiskeys flowed as the DJ played the summer hits until sunrise. Julia and I had an “uh oh” moment when we realized that it was now 7 am. 

In a panic, she made the guys drive us back to her beach side condo.  We quietly unlocked the door and tiptoed in. We were relieved to see the curtains drawn and it was still dark. Julia and I scampered past the kitchen without turning on a light. 

We entered our dark bedroom, closed the door and let out a sigh of relief. I remembered Julia’s voice whispering from the dark.  We agreed to lie about our adventure. I snickered as she snapped on the light. Mrs. Velasquez was sitting in the corner like a fire breathing granny jammies wearing dragon.  We nearly shit ourselves. Slowly, she stood up and slapped Julia’s face without saying a word. Then, she stormed out. 

I felt horrible and ran to comfort Julia.  She smiled and said “Thanks to all the Sangria, I can’t feel a thing.” She laughed it off and said it was worth it!