Celebrate National Sangria Day Every December 20

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Forget sugarplums dancing in your head. Enjoy sweet fruity wine dancing on your tongue, instead.

It’s practically required for National Sangria Day!

Why do we celebrate sangria in December? After all, the light refreshing drink is perfect for a warm summer day.

No clue!

We have not been able to find who created the day or why. And the choice of dates is equally mysterious.

But that shouldn’t stop anyone from celebrating! It’s an excuse to enjoy your favorite sangria. Who would turn that down?!

 

A Sip of Sangria Trivia

Although we don’t know how the day started, we have a better idea how the drink started: as a way to make mediocre wine taste better.

At one time (2000+ years ago) beer and wine were the drinks of choice. The water was just too unsafe to drink, because it had too many bacteria in it. But most of it wasn’t good wine (or beer, for that matter). So the Romans living in what is today Spain started adding things to the wine improve the flavor.

Sangria finally made it to the US in 1964 at that year’s World’s Fair.

The name of the drink probably refers to the dark red color it has when you use a traditional red wine to make it. Because the word sangria comes from sangre. And sangre means blood/bloody.

But you don’t have to use red wine. If you prefer white wines, by all means use that to make your sangria. In this case you’ll call the drink Sangria Blanca.

In fact, there’s no one “right” way make sangria.

The basic recipe involves adding fruit juices and fresh fruit pieces to your wine. But the choice of fruit is yours.

 

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A few popular fruit choices:

• Apple
• Orange
• Lemon
• Lime
• Peach
• Melon
• Nectarine
• Pineapple

 

Leave the fruit in big chunks, make smaller pieces, or even mash up some of the pieces to really infuse the wine with the fruit flavor.

You may also add herbs and spices. Or even other alcohols. Brandy is a common addition, but feel free to experiment.

If you like your sangria sparkly, you can add carbonated water or even soda pop.

If you need more sweetness, add honey or sugar.

As long as the flavors taste good together, there’s really no wrong way to make sangria.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial delicious and fruity holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating National Sangria Day

Like all food and drink days, the only way to celebrate is to consume the thing being celebrated.

 

So… Drink sangria!

Enjoy a quiet drink alone, or invite a friend to join you. Even better throw a sangria party!

Serve your sangria in a festive pitcher.

Buy sangria already made. Or make it yourself.

You could also compromise by making the drink using your favorite wine and adding a sangria mix. Simple but still homemade!

If you already have a favorite sangria recipe, by all means use that. If not, or if you’d like to try something new, try one of these recipes:

• Basic Red Wine Sangria: Get a basic recipe along with ideas for variations. The post even offers advice on picking a wine to use.
• Alton Brown’s Sangria: A simple recipe. But make sure you allow enough time for the fruit to marinate in the brandy.
• Christmas Sangria: This is more of an outline with suggestions than a recipe. But since that’s really what sangria is anyway, it works! The suggestions center around how to make it more Christmasy than summery.
• Sangria Recipe: Another simple stir-and-wait for the flavors to blend recipe.

 

If you love to experiment with sangria recipes, consider a whole book full of delightful sangria recipes! Try one of these:

• The Best Ever Sangria Recipe Book: 40 Party Perfect Pitchers
• 101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks
• Sangria Recipes

 

Don’t leave the kids out either. Serve them a “sangria” soft drink. It is (of course) not quite the same taste as real sangria. But the reviews are generally positive.

 

Eat Your Sangria

We also found some slightly off-beat takes on sangria:

• Sangria chicken: Top your chicken with a blend of wine and fruit.
• Raspberry Sangria Popsicles: Admittedly probably more appealing during warm weather. But surely some of you live where December is warm (and even hot!). But if your December is cold and snowy, enjoy your popsicle in front of a roaring fire.
• Sangria Grapes: Snack on your wine-soaked, sugar-coated sangria grapes.

 

So, will you be enjoying a sangria (or two) in honor of National Sangria Day?

 

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