Sangria (, es, sangría , pt, sangria ) is an alcoholic beverage originating in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Under EU regulations only those two Iberian nations can label their product as Sangria; similar products from different regions are differentiated in name. A punch, sangria traditionally consists of red wine and chopped

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

, often with other ingredients or

spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. Sangria is very popular among foreign tourists in Spain even if locals do not consume the beverage that much. It is commonly served in bars, restaurants, and chiringuitos and at festivities throughout Portugal and Spain. Penelope Casas, ''1,000 Spanish Recipes'' ( Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), p. 669. Clericó is a similar beverage that is popular in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

History and etymology

''Sangria'' means "bloodletting" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. The term ''sangria'' used for the drink can be traced back to the 18th century. According to the ''SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol'', sangria's origins "cannot be pinpointed exactly, but early versions were popular in Spain, Greece, and England". Wylene Rholetter, "Sangria" in ''The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives'' (ed. Scott C. Martin: SAGE Publications, 2014). ''Sangaree'', a predecessor drink to sangria that was served either hot or cold, probably originated in the Caribbean (West Indies),Smith, p. 522.John Ayto, ''The Glutton's Glossary: A Dictionary of Food and Drink Terms'' (Routledge, 1990), p. 259. and from there was introduced to mainland America, where it was common beginning in the American colonial era but had "largely disappeared in the United States" by the early twentieth century.

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify a ...

and Spanish restaurants had re-introduced sangria to the U.S. as an iced drink by the late 1940s, and it gained greater popularity through the

1964 World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

in New York.

Recipe

Sangria recipes vary wildly even within Spain, with many regional distinctions.Hellmich, p. 6. The base ingredients are always red wine, and some means to add a

y or sweeter flavour, and maybe boost the

alcohol content Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

. Traditionally sangria may be mixed with local fruits such as

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

es,

nectarine The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

s, or global fruits such as

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, and sweetened with sugar and

orange juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as vari ...

. Spanish Rioja red wine is traditionally used. Some sangria recipes, in addition to wine and fruit, feature additional ingredients, such as brandy,

sparkling water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, or a flavored liqueur. ''Sangria blanca'' (sangria with

white wine White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. ...

) is a more recent innovation. For ''sangria blanca'', American food writer

Penelope Casas Penelope Casas (May 25, 1943 – August 11, 2013) was an American food writer, cookbook author and expert on the cuisine of Spain. Casas began authoring a series of English-language cookbooks focusing on the food of Spain during the 1980s, effective ...

recommends dry white wines such as a Rueda, Jumilla, or

Valdepeñas Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso d ...

. '' Reál Sangria'' is predominantly made with wine from the Tempranillo and Garancha grapes.Reál Sangria Homepage
/ref> ''Ponche de Sangria'' is a variation for children, often for birthday parties. Oranges, peaches, and other sugary fruits are combined with berries, grapes, or food coloring in order to create the coloration of sangria. A soft drink typically replaces the wine.

European Union law protection

Under European Union law, the use of sangria in commercial or trade labeling is now restricted under geographical labeling rules. The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

approved new labeling laws by a wide margin in January 2014, protecting indications for aromatized drinks, including sangria,

Vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...

and

Glühwein Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine, is an alcoholic drink usually made with red wine, along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins, served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. It is us ...

. Only sangria made in Spain and Portugal is allowed to be sold as "sangria" in the EU; sangria made elsewhere must be labeled as such (e.g., as "German sangria" or "Swedish sangria"). The definition of ''sangria'' under European Union law from the 2014 Regulation states that it is an: The 2014 regulation also recognises 'clarea' as an aromatised wine-based drink, which is obtained from white wine under the same conditions as for sangría. Clarea may be used as a sales denomination only when the product is produced in Spain. When the product is produced in other Member States, 'clarea' may only be used to supplement the sales denomination 'aromatised wine-based drink', provided that it is accompanied by the words: 'produced in', followed by the name of the Member State of production or of a more restricted region.

References

Works cited

*Mittie Hellmich, ''Sangria: Fun and Festive Recipes'', Chronicle Books, 2004, *Andrew F. Smith, "Sangria" in ''The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink'' (ed. Andrew F. Smith:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2007), p. 522.

External links