Labour Day weekend is so often the last chance for summer-style entertaining. That usually involves alfresco dining, barbecued food and such summery drinks as sangria.
There is a right way to make sangria. It usually involves a dozen or more ingredients and plenty of time. Which is fine if you've been planning this dinner party for weeks.
But sometimes gatherings of friends happen spontaneously, and when I'm in the mood for something boozy and fruity - just as I'm about to slap something on the grill - taking the time to do it right just doesn't work.
Because doing it right generally means slicing and chopping plenty of fresh fruit, then letting it macerate for hours.
Over the years, I have perfected the wrong way to make sangria, a recipe that makes a deliciously refreshing fruity-winey cocktail by the glass in about two minutes.
Sometimes I simply fill a glass with red wine, add a tablespoon of sugar, a splash of lime juice and a few ice cubes and call it good. But for those days when you're willing to do just a bit more, here are my recipes for red and white wrong-way sangria.
With either recipe, if you'd like to cut the sugar a bit, a packet of stevia sweetener works fine.
One note about wine quality. Because this is a by-the-glass recipe, I usually just use whatever wine I happen to have open. And let's be honest - I don't generally have $100 bottles kicking around.
But if you are buying wine specifically for this, follow the same rule as you would for cooking with wine - neither too expensive nor too cheap.
I'm usually pretty happy with bottles in the $9 to $14 range. Also, a number of retailers have caught on to the success of Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck (decent wine it sells for a few dollars a bottle).
Those work quite nicely for these drinks.
Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking.
RECIPES
Red Wrong-Way Sangria
Start to finish: 5 minutes Servings: 1
5 ounces red wine
2 Tbsp grenadine
1 Tbsp sugar
? Juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tbsp 7-Up or other lemon-lime soda
? Ice
In a tall glass - or a fat glass or any glass that holds at least a measuring cup of liquid, combine the wine, grenadine, sugar and lime juice. Mix well, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the soda, stir gently, then add the ice.
WHITE WRONG-WAY SANGRIA
Start to finish: 5 minutes Servings: 1
5 ounces white wine
3 ounces mango or guava juice
1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp ginger beer or other ginger ale
? Ice
In a suitable glass, combine the wine, juice and sugar. Mix well, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the soda, stir gently, then add the ice.
