Sangría
Spanish wine punch of red wine, chopped fruit, sugar, brandy and citrus, served cold by the jug. Touristy in Spain, hugely popular abroad.
Sangría is the Spanish wine punch most international visitors think of when they think of Spanish drinks. The base is red wine (cheap, not Reserva), sliced citrus and stone fruit, a splash of brandy or orange liqueur, sugar to taste, and sometimes a top of fizzy water or lemon-lime soda. Served cold by the pitcher with ice. The drink has surprisingly low status with Spanish locals; most Spaniards consider sangría a tourist drink and would order a beer, a vermut or a glass of straight wine instead. The Catalan variant sangría de cava replaces still red with sparkling cava and is the slightly classier cousin. EU law restricts the labelling of commercial 'sangría' to bottles made in Spain or Portugal.
How it's served
Cold from a glass pitcher with ice, poured into wine glasses or tumblers at the table. Sliced citrus and stone fruit float in the jug; the longer the fruit infuses, the better. Often served as a shared drink at outdoor restaurants and tapas bars in summer.
Regional variation
The Catalan sangría de cava substitutes sparkling cava for the still red wine, producing a lighter, fizzier drink with slightly more credibility among locals. The white-wine version (sangría blanca) is occasionally seen but rare. The Mediterranean coast and tourist-heavy areas of Andalusia serve the most sangría; locals in Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque Country rarely order it.
- Origin
- Spain
- Etymology
- From the Spanish sangre ('blood'), a reference to the deep red colour of the wine.
Where to try it in Barcelona
3 restaurants on Guidavera mention sangría in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What is in sangría?
Red wine, sliced citrus and stone fruit, a splash of brandy or orange liqueur, sugar, and sometimes fizzy water or lemon-lime soda on top. Served cold over ice from a glass pitcher. The base wine is always cheap; using anything good would be a waste.
Do Spanish people drink sangría?
Honestly, not much. Sangría is heavily associated with tourists in Spain. Most locals would order a caña (small beer), a glass of wine, a vermut or tinto de verano (red wine and lemon soda) instead. You'll see jugs of sangría on tables of foreign visitors at outdoor restaurants; Spanish tables rarely order it.
What's the difference between sangría and tinto de verano?
Sangría is wine with fruit, brandy and sugar; tinto de verano is just red wine and lemon-lime soda over ice, no fruit, no brandy. Tinto de verano is what Spanish locals actually order in summer. Cheap, cold, refreshing, no pretense. Sangría is the touristier, more elaborate cousin.
Related terms
- CavaSpanish traditional-method sparkling wine, mostly made in the Penedès region of Catalonia, from local grapes (Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada).
- VermutAromatized fortified wine. In Barcelona it doubles as a midday social ritual: a glass of vermouth on tap, an olive, a snack, around noon.
- KalimotxoSpanish drink of cheap red wine and Coca-Cola, mixed half-and-half over ice. Invented in the Basque Country in 1972; now ubiquitous at festivals.
- ClaraSpanish beer mixed with lemon-lime soda (clara con Casera) or lemonade. Lighter, lower-alcohol, the default Spanish summer drink.