Best.Sangria.Ever.

Okay, I might be overstating it a bit, but I get a lot of compliments and requests for my Sangria recipe...This is hands down, my favorite summertime cocktail! We live in the East Bay, where it gets VERY HOT in the summer, so we spend all of our free time at the pool club with our friends and neighbors. I always have a big pitcher of Sangria in my cooler.

I'm not one of those "secret family recipe" people, so I thought I would share it with everyone:

Best.Sangria.Ever.
(makes approx. 6 glasses)

1 750 ml bottle of red*
1 750ml bottle of white*
1 Orange, halved & sliced
1 Lemon, sliced
1 Lime, sliced
1 cup granulated sugar (I use superfine or baker's sugar)
Fresh seasonal fruit of your choosing,
such as sliced apples, peaches, apricots, or mango and berries
1 shot glass of rum

In a 4 quart glass or plastic pitcher, add wine, sugar & all fruit; stir, or if pitcher is a sealed lid type, shake until sugar is dissolved. Add rum and stir or shake again, then refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve over ice.

*I never, ever spend more than $3.00 per bottle of wine - Charles Shaw & Sea Ridge are usually my "go to" wines for this recipe. Cabernet & Chardonnay are the varietals I use.