Summer Sangria

This rosé sangria recipe is a light, crisp, and easy spring and summer cocktail recipe to make for a crowd. I’ve been experimenting with sangria recipes for nearly 20 years, starting back in college when I’d mix together pitchers using Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s (that wine really did cost just $2 back then!). Over the years, my sangria game has evolved significantly into much more elevated and tastier versions.

Through two decades of testing different wine varieties, fruit combinations, and liqueur ratios, I’ve learned what makes a truly exceptional sangria. This berry-filled rosé version has become my summertime favorite because it strikes the perfect balance: it’s boozy but doesn’t taste like it, which in my opinion is the best kind of cocktail. I’ve figured out the ideal sugar amount to enhance the fruit flavors without making it too sweet, discovered that darker rosés hold up better with the other ingredients, and perfected the chilling time needed to let all those fresh berry and citrus flavors meld together beautifully.

With warm weather just around the corner, rosé season is in sight! Whether or not you abide by the “rosé all day” mantra during the warmer months, this rosé sangria is a fun twist on the classic that’s the perfect sipper to enjoy with family and friends.

Why You’ll Love This Rose Sangria Recipe

• Level of difficulty: Sangria is an easy cocktail to make. A little measuring, a little stirring, and minimal chopping and slicing of your fruit.
• Flavor: This sangria recipe is light, crisp, and refreshing with a bright citrusy and berry flavor profile.
• Time: While it only takes about 5 minutes to prep and mix up your rosé sangria, overall time for this recipe is 1+ hours because it needs to chill for at least an hour to infuse the fresh fruit flavors into this cocktail.

Spring Sangria Ingredients

• Rosé Wine: a robust, darker-hued rosé is the best rosé wine for sangria (more info below)
• Orange Liqueur: you can use any orange liqueur you’d like. We’ve personally been using Grand Marnier, but you could also use popular orange liqueurs like Cointreau or Triple Sec.
• Brandy: brandy is a liquor made by distilling wine, making it a great add-in for sangria
• Sugar: this rosé sangria recipe has just enough sugar included to add the sweetness you want without going overboard and loading your drink with lots of added sugar
• Berries: this sangria recipe features fresh strawberries and raspberries, making it the best summer sangria! But feel free to have some fun with this and add in other fruits like blueberries or blackberries to your batch of sangria. You could also get wild and try peaches!
• Oranges: fresh orange slices are a classic sangria ingredient

What’s The Best Rose For This Berry Sangria?

Because sangria generally has a lot of flavorful elements, you want to use a rosé that has enough body to hold it’s own in this drink. Look for a more robust rosé that is darker in color (versus it’s very pale counterparts) for your sangria.

Berry Sangria Variations

• Make it refined sugar free. If you are working to keep refined sugars out of your diet, you can still enjoy this sangria recipe with one small swap! In place of the ¼ cup of granulated sugar, use 2 Tablespoons of agave syrup. Now you have a refined-sugar free cocktail you can sip on all summer long – whoo hoo!
• Make it into a sparkling rosé sangria. I personally like my sangria on the boozy side, but I know a lot of people want a super light and bubbly rosé sangria for the summertime. This is easy to accomplish by topping your glass of rosé sangria with sparkling water to your liking! You can use plain sparkling water or a flavored sparkling water. This rosé sangria would taste great topped with orange, lemon, or tangerine sparkling water too.

Love this Summer Sangria? Give These Other Fruity Cocktail Recipes a Try!

• Strawberry Peach Frosé
• Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris
• Raspberry Bourbon Smash
• Cherry Frosé