Apple and Pear White Sangria June 7, 2018 05:00

I've been to a few local Raleigh, NC, restaurants lately that have offered a light white wine sangria. I love the twist on the classic red sangria. I have been experimenting at home with a few recipes and thought I'd share the two that I've had the best luck with. Both were found via Google, so first shout out goes to them!

The first one I tried was from a blog called Love Grows Wild:

Apple and Pear White Wine Sangria - Love Grows Wild

Ingredients:

1 bottle Moscato wine
1/2 cup lemon liqueur (I used Caravella)
Zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from two lemons)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
1 Bartlett pear, cored, halved, and thinly sliced

1 can (12 ounces) seltzer

Instructions:

In a large pitcher, combine wine, lemon liqueur, lemon zest, and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice, apple slices, and pear slices and mix well. Place pitcher in refrigerator for 4 hours to chill and allow flavors to blend. Just before serving, top sangria off with seltzer. You can also strain sangria after chilling to remove lemon zest, if desired.

My second attempt was from Celebrate Magazine:

Apple and Pear Sangria - Celebrate Magazine

Ingredients:

2 (750-ml) bottles Pinot Grigio
1 cup pear-flavored vodka (I used Absolut)
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1 granny Smith apple, cored and sliced
1 green pear, cored and thinly sliced

1 (1-liter) bottle carbonated lemon-lime-flavored soda, chilled

Instructions:

In a large pitcher, stir together all ingredients with the exception of the soda. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Stir in lemon-lime soda just before serving.

My final thoughts: They were both delicious and refreshing, I would recommend both. The first was a little bit sweeter with the sugar and the Moscato. I did like the added lemon a lot. I liked the added mint in the second recipe though. The second was also a little easier to prep. I think if I had to make the hard decision on which one I would make again I think I would go with the second one from Celebrate Magazine.

This fall I'm definitely going to try this concoction, apple cider and champagne, interesting and intriguing!