Recipe: Strawberry Basil Sangria | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Recipe: Strawberry Basil Sangria

Unlike many sangrias, this one is designed to showcase the wine, not cover it up.

Tue, Dec 18 2012 at 11:41 AM

Made with Cline Cellar's Cool Climate Chardonnay, this sangria is crisp and refreshing. I added basil to this recipe for a few reasons but mostly to give the drink a clean finish. And unlike most sangria, where the recipe is designed to cover up bad wine, this is quite the opposite. It was designed to showcase it. Enjoy!

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Total time: 15 minutes ?

Yield: 1 pitcher

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Strawberry Basil Sangria

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound fresh strawberries
• 1 apple
• 1 ounce fresh whole basil leaves
• 1 bottle Cline Cellar Cool Climate Chardonnay
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1 cup club soda
• 1 cup white grape juice

Cooking directions

1. Trim and thinly slice the strawberries.?
2. Slice and dice the apple into very small bits.?
3. Score the basil leaves with a fork. I did this instead of cutting the leaves into strips as I did not want my guests choking on basil while trying to enjoy this drink. Just rub the basil leaves gently with a fork in order to release their flavor in the sangria.
4. Layer the fruit, sugar and basil in a large pitcher and let sit for about 10 minutes. This is just to let the sugar absorb the juices from the basil and the fruit. You'll see it turn a bit red.
5. Add the club soda first and then the remaining liquids. Stir well and serve.

Check out a video for this recipe below:

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This story was originally written for TreeHugger. Copyright 2012.

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Photo credits: Sangria, strawberries: Jerry James Stone

Source: http://www.mnn.com/food/beverages/stories/recipe-strawberry-basil-sangria

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