Strawberry Balsamic Red Wine Sangria

It surprises our fans, but we extol the virtues of using good balsamic vinegar in cocktails all the time. Sangria is another example.

This recipe represents one of two styles of sangria - red wine sangria. Our recipe is a Traditional Spanish-style sangria, with a red Rioja base - it tends to be fuller and richer, which is why we chose a traditional thick rich dark balsamic. We also have a recipe for a lighter Sangria Blanca, with a white wine base. You can find that recipe here.

ingredients

• 1 bottle dry bold, fruity red wine (can be on the slightly sweet side - think Rioja, zinfandel or syrah)
• ¼ cup vodka
• ¼ cup Pastamore Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 ½ cups strawberries, sliced
• 1 peach, peeled, pitted and sliced
• ¼ cup super-fine sugar, or to taste
  

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, add ice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Some notes:

1. Depending on how sweet you prefer things, you may want to omit or add less sugar.
2. We used our Traditional Barrel-Aged Dark Balsamic for this recipe, but most dark traditional 'flavored' balsamics will work. We loved this with our Black Cherry Balsamic, and our Raspberry Balsamic.
3. Feel free to interchange the fruit to the season and your liking.

White Balsamic Sangria (Sangria Blanca)

It surprises our fans, but we extol the virtues of using good balsamic vinegar in cocktails all the time. Sangria is another example.

This recipe represents one of two styles of sangria - white (blanca). Our recipe below is for Sangria Blanca, with a white wine base - it is usually lighter, lending itself more to a white balsamic, which tend to be more elegant. We also have a recipe for Traditional Spanish-style sangria, with a red Rioja base, which you can find here.

ingredients

• 1 bottle light fruity white wine, chilled (think Riesling, Moscato or Chenin Blanc)
• ¼ cup brandy
• ¼ cup Pastamore Pear with White Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 peach, peeled, pitted and sliced
• ¼ cup super-fine sugar, or to taste
  

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, add ice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Some notes:

1. Depending on how sweet you prefer things, you may want to omit or add less sugar.
2. We used our Pear White Balsamic for this recipe, but we had wonderful results with our Passion Fruit and Ruby Red Grapefruit White Balsamic as well.
3. There is nothing hard and fast on which fruits to use, citrus works well, of course, but pears or berries would also be fantastic.