Summer Sangria Spritzer

Can we hold off on the pumpkin, turning on the oven, and bundling up with hot drinks and blankets? The blogosphere (and Pinterest) has exploded with fall recipes- and I’m not ready!! I love my pumpkin recipes just as much as my blogger neighbors, but I am going to live up September as much as possible. I am going to continue to eat watermelon every day, drink sangria in the early evening, and pretend like the sun is out on my drive to work. Colorado peaches are at their peak right now, and though I sadly missed the Palisade Peach Fest, I will happily slice them into my sangria, as dessert, and into 2 ingredient ice cream. This easy and low calorie sangria recipe will have you celebrating summer, and waiting another month for those pumpkin spiced lattes.

Summer Sangria Spritzer (makes 4 glasses of sangria)

• 1.5 cups punchy and fruity red wine (I used an inexpensive garnacha)
• 1/4 cup triple sec
• 2 peaches
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 lime
• Optional drizzle of honey
• 12-24 oz fruit flavored sparkling water (1 or 2 cans)

In a glass bowl, pitcher, or Tupperware (real classy over here), combine your wine, triple sec, and sliced fruit. I left the skin on my peaches but some may prefer to remove it. Give the lemon and lime a bit of a squeeze before dropping them in.

Let everything hang out in the fridge to chill- for anywhere from a 20 minute sangria to a 2 hour sangria, depending on how boozy you want your fruit. Drizzle some honey into the mix if you want to add a bit of sweetness.

To serve, separate the fruity sangria into four glasses and top them off with anywhere from a 1/4 to a 1/2 can of flavored sparkling water and plenty of ice cubes. This will depend on how punchy your wine is, and how many cups you want to get out of the recipe. I made 4 glasses with about 4-6 oz of sparkling water per glass. This recipe is great for sangria for 2 if you will be leisurely sipping and snacking all evening, or a sangria recipe for 4 alongside dinner.

Cheers!

Marisa