Sangria Days and Nights

IT’S BEEN HOT, but I don’t have to tell you that.  It takes me time to adjust to the temperature changes, and Mother Nature doesn’t give us Central New Yorkers much time.  It’ll be cool, jean- and long-sleeve-shirt-weather one day, and the next day I’ll be stirring around my house until ten or eleven o’clock at night waiting for it too cool off enough to eat and go to bed.  The only thing that gets me through these hot, humid days and transition into summer is getting out into the country, up on a hill where the breeze is, and beverages.

I like beverages, and though I do love a glass of water (hold the ice, and a wedge of lemon, please), my favorite hot weather drinks are iced Earl Grey, lightly sweetened; iced coffee, heavy with sweetener and cream; iced peppermint and red zinger teas; and sangria.  My main effort, besides all the trips to the bathroom, is to balance the rehydrating beverages with the dehydrating beverages.

Sangria is Spanish in origin.   It is a mixture of wine and fruit, usually with bubbles and a bit of fortifying liquor added.  It is easy to drink, and refreshing.  Sangria does fall into the dehydrating category, being alcoholic, but it also has fruit, to keep blood sugar up.  I can’t let myself get weak with hunger before it gets cool enough to eat.  I’m sure that is something everyone can understand.

Spaniards have the boon of a more temperate climate than we do, and can source tart and sweet citrus fruits with ease.  Later in the season, peaches, raspberries and plums, among others, are wonderful in sangria.  This time of year, how do I fix myself a perfect glass of sangria, without buying fruit from around the world to do so?

I set out walking towards Red Feet Wine Market, mulling this question over.  Rhubarb is in season, and I decided I would use that spring plant.  I passed a friend’s house and noticed she had lemon balm growing outside her house.  Stopping to nibble a leaf, I decided it would work well in sangria, too. I plucked a couple of stems, and so began my urban forage.

Red Feet is a small and tasteful wine market in Franklin Plaza.  The staff has real skill in picking just the wine to go with what I’m making, and the selection is so well-chosen that I never notice how small the store is.   I was in search of a Finger Lakes white wine.  I told the man at the counter about my sangria idea.  He asked how sweet I wanted the wine, and I told him I was planning on making syrup with the rhubarb, so could adjust the sweetness of the drink, and preferred that the wine that be fresh and crisp.  He directed me towards a wine called Keuka Village, from Ravines Wine Cellars, on Keuka Lake.  I tend to stay away from wine with vague, country-craft names, and from sweeter grapes.  I tossed out my reserves and went for it.  For twelve dollars I thought I could step outside my comfort zone.   Keuka Village is a blend of Vignoles and Cayuga, (a typically sweet, native grape) with 1 % residual sugar.  It tasted simple and tart, and “crisp and fresh” just as I requested.

Returning home with the bottle of wine and a few sprigs of lemon balm, I passed an abundance of lavender, in full flower.  I know that if everyone did it the poor bush would be naught, but I swiped a few stems anyway.  My last conquest was to pinch the tops of very dark green and strongly flavored mint along the way (the stuff spreads like crazy).

All of these herbs and flowers got me thinking about the bottle of Elderflower liqueur in my pantry, and still needing that fortifying splash of hard liquor, I opted for Bushmills: its honey-sweet flavor and golden color seemed just the thing for my delicate floral sangria.

White Wine and Rhubarb Sangria

1 bottle of dry white wine, chilled

1 and ½ cups chopped rhubarb

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

A few sprigs each of lemon balm and mint

A few stalks of flowering lavender, flowers stripped from the stalks

¼ cup of Bushmills or other whiskey

1 tbs. St. Germain Elderflower liqueur

1 bottle plain seltzer

Heat 1 cup of the rhubarb in a saucepan over medium heat with the sugar and just a touch of water.  Simmer until the rhubarb is soft, about 20 minutes, stirring as necessary.  When it is soft and liquidy, bring to a boil for 5-8 minutes.  Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.  Let cool completely.

Cut the mint and lemon balm leaves into thin ribbons.  Put into the bottom of a glass pitcher, and bruise by pressing the back of a wooden spoon against the glass.  Add the wine, liqueur and whiskey.  Add the rhubarb sauce and mix.  Add the remaining ½ cup chopped raw rhubarb.  Top with the lavender flowers. Chill for at least an hour and up to 2 days.

Either add about ½ cup of seltzer to the pitcher just before serving, or top off each glass to taste as it is poured.

Serve the sangria cold.  I prefer to drink sangria out of tumblers, because it is easier to fish out the fruit with my fingers, but then, this depends on your crowd.  It improves if left to sit in the fridge for up to 2 days.  Nibble on cheese and crackers, roasted nuts, or a light salad while you’re sipping sangria and waiting out the heat. Salud!

Tagged as: Full Plate Collective, Katie Church, Recipe, rhubarb, Sangria, Stick and Stone Farm