This refreshing white sangria recipe makes a lighter summery Spanish sangria with sparkling white wine and summer fruits, with citrus fruits such as orange, lemon and lime, and summer berries like strawberries and blueberries. But it’s nothing if not versatile: use dry white wine and sparkling mineral water or soda water, and whatever fruit you have on hand.
Our white sangria recipe makes a lighter sparkling version of the traditional sangria from Spain made with red wine and macerated fruit, which can feel heavy and heady in a sweltering Australian summer. It’s fantastic with nibbles such as spiced roasted peanuts, crispy pita chips or spicy crackers, or a spread of Spanish tapas or Basque pintxos.
You could make this white sangria with cava, the Catalan sparkling white wine, or pink sangria with sparkling rosé and pomelo or grapefruit juice. For a headier white sangria, stir in a white spirit such as a white Cuban rum or even gin, which would be more ‘authentic’ considering the popularity of gin in Spain.
If you’re looking for more summery beverages to sip, see our watermelon mint cooler recipe, classic pina colada recipe, authentic margarita recipe, and spicy michelada recipe for a beer cocktail I became smitten with in Mexico City. You could also add a white spirit such as vodka or gin to this rose lemonade recipe for a Middle Eastern inspired cocktail.
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White Sangria Recipe with Sparkling Wine and Summer Fruits
If you’ve enjoyed leisurely sipping sangria in the sunshine in Spain or at Spanish restaurants or tapas bars at home, try this white sangria recipe for a lighter, more summery take on the traditional Spanish sangria made with red wine and macerated fruit.
I’ve been making the classic Spanish sangria since Terence and I first started eating out at Sydney’s tapas bars back in the… let’s just say, some years ago. As soon as we perched ourselves on stools, we’d order a pitcher of sangria to sip while we waited for our plates of tapas.
I used to serve jugs of sangria with bowls of guacamole and salsa when friends came over for drinks on Sunday afternoons. Terence likes to tell the story of how I competed in a sangria-making contest with our Spanish language teacher at the end of semester party – and won!
I was relieved when I finally got to Spain a couple of years later and discovered my sangria was exactly the same. Those were the pre-internet days and my traditional Spanish sangria recipe came from a Margaret Fulton cookbook from the 1970s – as did the inspiration for this white sangria recipe.
I’ve been doing a lot of research and cooking from old cookbooks this year and I’ve fallen in love with a 1982 Margaret Fulton cookbook called Superb Restaurant Dishes’. Margaret Fulton was Australia’s Julia Child in terms of her tremendous influence on Australian home cooks. I grew up with Margaret Fulton cookbooks on our bookshelves, which mum and dad both cooked from.
Margaret started out as a cooking teacher in 1947, introducing quick and easy recipes in cooking classes that were innovative for the time, and contributing recipes and tips to magazines. In 1960, she became a writer then cookery editor of Woman’s Day, published her first cookbook in 1968, and had a primetime TV cooking show in 1978.
While Margaret taught French cooking classes in the 1950s and fell in love with the cuisines of China, where she began hosting culinary tours the end of the 1970s, she was passionate about all kinds of food and was responsible for introducing Australian home cooks to cuisines from around the world.
Superb Restaurant Dishes is a collection of recipes Fulton gathered on her global travels, from restaurants and hotel kitchens everywhere from Mexico to Morocco – her Caesar salad recipe was given to her by the creator of the dish, Alexander Cardini Junior, who prepared the salad for Margaret in Mexico City.
Margaret Fulton’s white sangria recipe comes from the luxurious Marbella Club Hotel on the Costa del Sol in Southern Spain. She notes in her intro to the recipe that the “fruit and wine punch” is served everywhere in Spain – as an aperitif, “between-meal refresher”, and with meals – and while usually made with red wine, the Marbella Club used white wine.
The Marbella Club Hotel white sangria recipe is made with an apple, orange and lemon, a bottle of chilled dry white wine, Grand Marnier or Curaçao, and soda water. I went with a dry Australian sparkling white wine instead, Cuban white rum, bumped up the fruit, adding summer berries that are in season, and added fresh mint.
I made this white sangria over Christmas and New Year and my mum loved it so much, despite not being “a fruit person”, that I’ve been making it ever since. My white sangria recipe might not reinvent the classic Spanish beverage, rather I’m sharing it as a reminder that we don’t need a holiday or special occasion to spark joy for someone you love.
Tips to Making this White Sangria Recipe with Sparkling Wine and Summer Fruits
Just a few quick tips to making this white sangria recipe, as it couldn’t be easier, starting with the fruit.
The Fruit
Most traditional sangria recipes macerate the fruit, leaving the fruit and liqueur to steep for a few hours or overnight. While I think that’s a must for a classic red sangria, I like to keep the fruit fresh and light in this white sangria.
Add the sliced unpeeled fruit and fresh mint to a chilled punch bowl, jug or pitcher, then pour in the wine and liquor.
The Wine and Spirits
You don’t need to buy anything flash but use a decent bottle of sparkling white wine – something that you’d happily drink on its own. Many traditional sangria recipes use brandy, and the Marbella Club’s white sangria recipe calls for Grand Marnier or Curaçao.
For a lighter white sangria you can skip the spirits completely, but for a headier sangria, I prefer a white rum, preferably a Cuban rum, or another white spirit, such as gin or vodka.
Mineral Water or Soda Water
A lot of classic sangria recipes use soda water. You really don’t need more bubbles if you’re using sparkling wine, but if you do I prefer to add a splash of a good quality mineral water.
To Serve
Refrigerate the sangria for as long as you can before serving it. I don’t recommend adding ice to the jug or glasses as it will dilute the sangria. Instead, serve the ice separately in an ice bucket so guests can add ice cubes as they like.
Provide additional fresh mint leaves, and serve with crisps, nuts or crackers and dips, before a spread of Spanish tapas.
White Sangria Recipe with Sparkling Wine and Summer Fruits
Ingredients
- ½ orange - cut into slices, then slices quartered
- ½ a small lemon - cut into slices, then slices quartered
- ½ a lime - cut into slices, then slices quartered
- 1 cup strawberries - sliced into halves
- ½ cup blackberries
- ½ cup fresh mint leaves - torn off stems,
- 1 cup white rum - preferably Cuban white rum, or another white spirit
- 1 bottle sparkling white wine
Instructions
- To a punch bowl, jug or pitcher, add the sliced fruit and fresh mint leaves.
- Pour in the cup of white rum, preferably a Cuban white rum, or another white spirit, such as gin or vodka, and a bottle of good sparkling white wine.
- Give it a stir and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Don’t add ice, as it will dilute the sangria. Serve the ice separately in an ice bucket so guests can add the ice as they like.
Nutrition
Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this white sangria recipe as we love hearing how our recipes turn out for you.
