This classic white sangria recipe is refreshing, easy, and versatile! It’s made with fresh fruit, citrus fruits, crisp white wine, fruit liqueur, and apple vodka. Prepare it in the morning so the white wine can soak up all the fruity flavors. It’s one of our favorite summer cocktails to enjoy on a warm summer day.
This easy white wine sangria is a bubbly drink that’s perfect for a crowd. Serve it by the pool or for a garden party. It’s colorful, refreshing, and always a crowd-pleaser. This recipe uses only 9 ingredients and takes about 15 minutes to prepare.
Here’s the best part about making sangria, you can toss in the fruit you have and be creative. This is a basic recipe for a traditional white sangria, but have fun with it and if you have leftover fruit, use it.
Why We Love This Fruity Sangria
Table of Contents
- Perfect for warmer months.
- It’s an easy white sangria recipe to make.
- Can be made with more or less sugar.
- Perfect for parties!
What is white wine sangria?
The term sangria dates back to the 18th century. Early versions of this cocktail were popular in Spain, Greece, and England. It was originally served hot and cold.
Sangria as an iced drink was introduced to the U.S. in the late 1940s through Hispanic Americans and Spanish restaurants. White wine sangria is a cocktail that is similar to red wine sangria but made with white wine and summer fruit. It’s served in a large pitcher with sliced fruit.
How to Make White Wine Sangria
Supplies
To serve the sangria you’ll need a tall glass pitcher (love this one for $12), a long wooden spoon, and stemless wine glasses.
White Wine Sangria Recipe Ingredients
- Lime – You’ll need one lime to make this recipe. Lime provides acidity to the sangria.
- Lemon – Another citrus fruit we use in this recipe is lemons. Lemons have a sweet, tart taste to them and add color, fragrance, and flavor to the recipe. A medium lemon works perfectly.
- Strawberries – Fresh strawberries add a fruity flavor and bright red color.
- White Wine – This recipe uses an entire bottle of white wine. When picking out a wine to use, try a Rioja Spanish white or a Sauvignon Blanc.
- Apple – Pairs well with the apple vodka. Use any variety of apples you prefer.
- Apple Vodka – Crisp apple vodka adds a beautiful taste to the sangria. It has a tart flavor that ends with a smooth sweet finish.Â
- Pear, Peach, or Orange Liqueur – Any of these sweet liqueurs will work with this recipe.
- Simple Syrup – A mixture of water and granulated sugar adds a hint of sweetness to this summer drink. You can also try other sweeteners such as maple syrup or use a low-sugar sweetener to make simple syrup.
- Sparkling Water – This is what adds bubbles and fizz to the cocktail. You can also use lemon or lime-flavored sparkling water. If you like a sangria that is sweeter, try lemon-lime soda or ginger ale in replace of soda water.
How do you make white sangria?
- Wash and prepare all of the fruit. Slice or cut the fruit into small pieces. I personally like the way it looks sliced.
- Make the homemade simple syrup to sweeten the sangria.
- Add the white wine, fruit, vodka, simple syrup, and liqueur to a large pitcher.
- Place the sangria in the refrigerator to infuse the flavors. Anywhere from an hour to overnight depending on how much time you have and how fruity you want the flavor.
- Before serving, add in the club soda (any sparkling water) to give it some bubbles.
- Add a fresh mint to each glass for a simple garnish.
Pro Tips for Making White Wine Sangria
We recommend preparing the sangria, minus the bubbly ingredients the night before to allow the flavors to infuse and meld together.
Adjust the recipe to your liking as sangria is very forgiving. Use any fruit you have or you love!
Double the recipe for a large party!
Simple Syrup
Simple syrup is made with sugar and water. Instead of muddling sugar at the bottom of the pitcher, we like to dilute it and melt it so it blends better.
Mix 1/2 cup organic cane sugar with 1/2 cup water and simmer until sugar is melted. Super easy!
This is the organic cane sugar we used. You can also try coconut sugar if you prefer.
What is a good white wine for sangria?
You don’t need a very expensive bottle of wine when making sangria! Save your good bottles for sipping. Try an affordable dry white like Rioja Blanco, a crisp Sauvignon Blanc , or even a Pinot Grigio. You can make this recipe using different white wines. We prefer a dry white wine or a Spanish white wine.
To serve sangria, pour in a glass filled with ice. If the fruit stays in the pitcher, spoon some out to serve in each glass. Garnish with a mint leaf or edible flower!
I just love how colorful white sangria is! The fruit just pops and it’s beautiful.
Sangria Recipe Variations
- Use seasonal fruit and berries or anything that sounds good to you.
- Add a different liqueur-like peach, cherry, honeydew, apple, triple sec or Cointreau (orange), elderflower, banana, limoncello, or even prickly pear. There are so many choices and you can add whatever one you like!
- Try a flavored vodka. We use apple vodka in this recipe, but there are several flavors of vodka or even just classic is fine too.
- Pick a theme, like tropical white sangria made with pineapple and mango. Use this recipe as a guide and switch out the flavors to match your theme.
- You can use frozen fruit if you prefer, but we like fresh the best.
- Add a little orange juice to the recipe for an even fruitier drink.
What goes with white sangria?
This white sangria is truly great served with anything light and summery! Of course, Spanish cuisine goes perfectly with sangria. Also seafood to summer salad or even a large cheese platter are great pairings. It goes well with desserts such as blood orange cheesecake, the best ever lemon bars or lemon shortbread cookies.
White sangria goes great with a seasonal fruit platter and the best fruit dip or ham and cheese sliders.
This cocktail would also go well with any of our lemon recipes too!
When to Serve this White Wine Sangria Recipe
This is the perfect summer cocktail to serve at so many celebrations! Serve this recipe at:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, sangria is made with wine as well as a spirit depending on the type of sangria. We use vodka in this white wine sangria recipe.
Yes. Usually, the fruit in sangria will go bad before the actual wine. It will last up to 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Since there is sliced fruit in sangria, the fruit will start to turn brown after a few days. Plan on keeping it for three days in the refrigerator and then discarding it. But I highly doubt you’ll have any left on the third day
Which white wine is best for sangria?
When picking out a white wine to use for sangria, you don’t need anything too expensive. Our first suggestion is to go with a wine from the Spanish region. This would be an affordable bottle of White Rioja. However, if you can’t find that try something on the dryer side with a crisp finish like Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, or Moscato.
Check out our types of wine chart for more suggestions on different varieties of white wine.
Can you use cheap wine for sangria?
We suggest using a cheaper bottle of wine to make sangria. As long as the wine tastes good on its own, there are several good bottles you can spend $10 on that are great for sangria. Since you’re mixing it with fruit and other liquors, there is no need to buy anything expensive.
Is pinot grigio A dry white wine?
Pinot grigio is a wonderful, dry white wine with a beautiful crisp flavor. An affordable bottle of pinot grigio is perfect for making white wine sangria.
Can I use Triple Sec in sangria?
You can use triple sec in sangria. It adds a nice orange flavor. Just don’t use too much as it’s a liqueur and adds more alcohol to the sangria.
More Sangria Recipes You’ll Love!
If you love sangria, try these amazing recipes!
Watermelon and Honeydew White Sangria
Also check our favorite mixed drinks, tequila cocktails, vodka cocktails, and cheap drinks to make at home!
If you make our traditional white sangria let us know what you think in the comments! We’d love to know your thoughts.
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White Sangria Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 sliced lime
- 1 sliced lemon
- 4 large strawberries, sliced
- 1 bottle white wine, Try a Rioja Spanish white or a Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 large apple , sliced
- 1/3 cup apple vodka
- 1/4 cup pear, peach or orange liqueur
- 1/3 cup simple syrup, homemade
- 1/3 cup sparkling water
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan combine 1/2 cup cane sugar and 1/2 water. Bring it to simmer until sugar melts, then let it cool to room temperature.
- Prepare all of the fruit by washing it and slicing it.
- In a pitcher add all of the ingredients (except the sparkling wateand stir.
- Let the sangria sit in the fridge so the flavors can combine. You can leave it in the fridge for 1 -8 hours.
- Add the sparkling water before you serve and give it a stir.
- Enjoy!
Billy says
This is my go to sangria recipe, so easy to make and seriously one of the best!
Eden says
Thank you Billy!
Suzy says
Couldn’t believe how delicious this was to drink! The flavor is excellent!
Krissy Allori says
Just a fresh and delicious beverage. Yum!
Beth Pierce says
What a cool refreshing cocktail, but with a little kick! Looking forward to enjoying this later today!
Lauren Kelly says
We made this for a party last night and it was a huge hit! I gave the recipe to two friends!