This white sangria is an ode to my last trip to the Basque Country, 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 a distinctly Euro feeling.
One night, we headed into the beachside town of San Sebastián for tapas (more on that later), and we had such proper white sangria I simply had to share a version with you here.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Here, I did something super untraditional (and, to some, likely sacrilege) and made it into this White Wine Sangria, which, once you try it, I think you’ll agree, was worth bucking tradition. Oh, and to go along with it, I couldn’t think of anything better than this White Anchovy Toast!
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this white sangria:
- Apples
- Oranges
- Lemons
- Honey
- Txakolina wine
- Pisco brandy
- Cointreau
- Cinnamon
- Ice
How To Make This Recipe
The key steps to make this white sangria are:
- Prepare The Fruit: Peel and core the apples.
- Make The Sangria Base: Combine the apples, orange, lemon, honey, white wine, Pisco brandy, Cointreau, and cinnamon, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Strain, Add Fruit, And Serve: Strain off the fruit, add fresh apples and oranges, and serve over ice.
The Key Is Basque Wine
The Basque Country has a few hyper-local wines that are relatively unknown outside of the region, and one of them is Txakolina (pronounced sha-koh-lee-nah). Txakolina is a bracing, refreshing, slightly effervescent white wine with a green apple flavor (hence the green apples in this recipe) and pairs well with food (and is my favorite pairing with the local tapas).
Other Sangria Recipes To Try
Looking for more sangria ideas? Also, check out:
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San Sebastián White 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 ml) bottles chilled Txakolina 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.
