Green Sangria With Green Apples, Grapes and Oranges

Green sangria, you say? With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, now’s the time of year when people look for something festive and green to fill up their cups. And let’s be honest, green beer? No, thank you. I wanted to make a sangria that would be festive to serve at a St. Pat’s party for folks who maybe don’t so much like Guinness and Irish whisky, or those who just wanted to try something new. And I didn’t want to use food coloring, and also wanted to challenge myself to go beyond the obvious choice of green melon liqueur, such as Midori.

As luck would have it, I stumbled upon a bottle of Casal Garcia Vinho Verde last time I stocked up at the wine store and was shopping the selections from Portugal.  “Vinho verde” translates literally to “green wine,” though it’s more of a white. Still, it felt serendipitous to have found it just in time for making green sangria, so I excitedly (though gently) tossed it in my cart.

Green Sangria Ingredients

Obviously I was going to need some green fruits. Green apples and green grapes seemed like obvious choices, and I grabbed some cara cara oranges, as well, thinking the orange would stand out rather lovely in both flavor and color. You could obviously use any type of orange, but I really adore the sweetness and dense texture of cara cara oranges.

As for making the green sangria, well, green, I decided to trust what I’d learned in preschool about blending colors. Yellow plus blue makes green, right? I decided to take a gamble on the notion that orange juice plus blue caracao (which is also citrus-flavored) would, as well.

Making Green Sangria

I loaded up the fruits in this green sangria recipe. I cubed two green Granny Smith apples, halved a couple dozen grapes and thinly sliced one orange, then quartered the slices. Once all the fruit was in the pitcher, I poured in 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 cup of orange juice, and 1/2 cup each of blue curacao and vodka. When I poured in the bottle of wine, it was like magic to see the green color come alive. It was even more vibrant than I imagined it would be!

After a gentle stir, the mixture went into the fridge. Since we had a full day planned, I let it chill for about eight hours, though three or four hours probably would have been fine. Before serving, I poured in about 1 cup of club soda. Then, I poured it over ice and garnished with fresh orange slices.

The finished product was just gorgeous, and yummy! While it may not have been an Irish beverage, I certainly felt lucky to be drinking it. Perhaps you will, too. Cheers!

Green Sangria With Apples, Grapes and Oranges

Try this vibrant green sangria recipe for a new twist on green drinks this St. Patrick’s Day! Orange juice and blue curacao give it its gorgeous color.

• Author: Anne Shelton

Ingredients

2 green apples
1 orange
2 dozen green grapes
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup blue curacao
1/2 cup vodka
1 (750-ml) bottle of vinho verde or white wine such as pinot grigio
1 cup club soda

Instructions

1. Wash and prepare fruit. Cube apples. Halve grapes. Thinly slice orange, and then quarter slices. Put fruit in pitcher.
2. Pour in sugar, orange juice, blue curacao and vodka.
3. Add the full bottle of wine, and gently stir.
4. Refrigerate about eight hours, or overnight.
5. Add club soda to pitcher.
6. Pour over ice to stir. Garnish with fresh orange slices.

Notes

We used Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, though you could use a different variety. If you can’t find vinho verde, a white wine such as pinot grigio would be a good choice, as well.