The Easter weekend is going to be hectic and if you are looking for a great, easy way to offer your guests a self-serve treat, why not make up a pitcher of Fresh Sangria? While there are hundreds of Sangria recipes a Google click away, we offer you a tried and true recipe created from the lessons we learned from our days in the restaurant business. When making Sangria the selection of fruit is ever important. We make our Sangria with nothing but tropical fruits for our mix, in particular, oranges, grapefruit and pineapple. These fruits hold up well to steeping for longer periods and actually improve by soaking up the wine. The other great thing about these is that you can buy them in the produce section of the grocery store, pre-cut in their own juice, no muss no fuss. Below we offer you our simple Sangria recipe. If you choose to add other fruits such as apples, peaches, pears or grapes know that they will tend to get mushy after a few hours so we suggest adding them into the glass at the last minute. 

• 1.5 Liter Bottle of Australian Shiraz*
• 1/2 Cup Brandy
• 1/2 Cup Triple Sec
• ¼ Cup Simple Syrup
• 4 Cups Mixed Cut Fruit with Their Juices (Oranges, Grapefruit and Pineapple ~ No Rind)

Mix Everything Together and Let Steep at Least 24 Hours in the Refrigerator. In an Oversized Glass Fill the Bottom Half with Ice. Layer Sangria Fruit Over the Ice and Fill with Sangria Wine. Serve with a Spoon to Eat the Fruit. Makes Around Eight 12-Ounce Servings 

*We use an inexpensive Shiraz from Australia as the base wine, finding the juicy ripe berry flavors work well as a foundation for our Sangria.