07 July 2024: Out of the Ashes Rose Sangria

We recently bought a bottle of an Italian rosé that we just did not enjoy at all. Rather than dump it, I usually add wine to something we are cooking, but as Julia Child might advise, don’t cook with anything you wouldn’t drink. So rather than pour an almost full 750 mL bottle down the drain, I set out to salvage it.

Based on a recipe for summer sangria found in Food and Wine, I guesstimated proportions of white rum, Campari, simple syrup and lemon juice. The transformation was, in a word, amazing.

I think the flexibility of Sangria makes it one of the easiest and tastiest drinks for aperitivo. And it didn’t hurt that a bottle of wine we didn’t care for was salvaged. Proportions are approximations, but this worked really well.

Ingredients

• A short bottle dry rosé (I used a nearly full 750 ML bottle)

• about 2 oz. white rum (McCoys was delish)

• about 2 oz Campari

• about 1 oz simple syrup (I used agave, easier to mix)

• about 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

Instruction

Put all of the ingredients into the wine bottle, give it a good shake and refrigerate - several hours if possible. Pour into a glass and add ice cubes for a little extra chill. Garnish with berries (I used blueberries and raspberries).