This sangria is is an ode to my last trip to Basque Country aka one of my all-time favorite parts of the world.
Because it straddles France and Spain, it has a culture (including a language) uniquely its own, yet still has feeling that’s distinctly Euro. One night we headed into the beachside town of San Sebastián for tapas (more on that later) and we had such proper Sangria I simply had to make a version to share with you.
The Key Is Txakolina
The Basque Country has a few hyper local wines that are relatively unknown outside of the region and one of them, Txakolina (pronounced sha-koh-lee-nah), is one of my favorite things to drink with the local tapas. Txakolina a bracing and refreshing, slightly effervescent white wine with a green apple flavor (hence the green apples in this recipe) and it pairs really well with food.
An Untraditional Sangria
Here I did something super untraditional (and, to some, likely sacrileg) and made it into this White Wine Fall Sangria, which, once you try it, I think you’ll agree, it was worth bucking tradition. Oh, and to go along with it I couldn’t think of anything better than this White Anchovy Toast!
Share Your Creation
Okay, now it’s time to stock up on these bar essentials, then try your hand at making this and then share your creation with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
San Sebastián White Wine Sangria Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
Macerate The Fruit:
- 1 medium Pink Lady or other sweet apples
- 1 medium Granny Smith apples
- 1 medium oranges
- 2 medium lemons
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 (750 bottles chilled Txakoina wine
- 1 cup Pisco brandy
- 1/2 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur
- 2 cinnamon sticks
For Serving:
- 1 medium Pink Lady apple
- 1 medium Granny Smith apples
- 1 medium orange
- ice
Instructions
- Prepare The Fruit: Peel, core and thinly slice one of the Pink lady and one of the green apples then thinly slice one of the oranges. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the lemon rind from both lemons then juice them (you should have about 3 tablespoons of lemon juice).
- Let The Base Macerate: In a large pitcher or bowl, combine the sliced apples, the sliced orange, the lemon zest, the lemon juice, and the honey and stir to until the honey is dissolved. Add one bottle of the wine, the Pisco, the Cointreau, and the cinnamon then refrigerate 3 to 4 hours.
- Serve The Sangria: Strain the sangria into a pitcher. Peel, core and finely slice the remaining apple and orange then add to the strained sangria along with the remaining bottle of wine. Serve sangria poured over ice with a few slices of apple in each cup.
