White Wine Sangria with Star Fruit, Oranges and Blackberries

I love a white wine sangria in the springtime. And while my go-to fruits are usually citrus and berries, it’s fun to switch things up from time to time and try something new. For this batch of white sangria, I set my sights on star fruit. These gems of the fruit world are such named because of their unique shape. When you slice them, each slice is in the shape of a star! Fun, right?

They taste pretty good, too. Star fruit, or carambola, is similar in texture to grapes, though the skin is thicker and a little waxy. No need to to peel it though – you can eat the entire fruit, including the skin. (You probably will want to remove the seeds though.) People have described star fruit as tasting similar to white grapes, citrus, apples or even pineapple. Less ripe star fruit tends to be more tart, with sweetness coming out more as the fruit ripens.

Most people can eat star fruit with no issues. However, there may be some risks for some individuals. People with certain kidney diseases should not eat star fruit. And like grapefruit, it can interact with certain medications.

White Wine Sangria Ingredients

I’ve been making a lot of white wine sangrias with pinot grigio lately. It’s light and refreshing and crisp, with delicious fruity undertones. For this batch, I grabbed a bottle of Bella Sera Pinot Grigio. I picked a star fruit from the produce section of my supermarket that had some slight bits of brown along the ridges, a sign that it was plenty ripe, which means sweeter and juicier. And I thought both blackberries and oranges would complement it well.

Making White Wine Sangria

This is a super easy sangria recipe. The star fruit makes it so easy to wow anyone you’re serving it to, without having to do anything more special than slicing it crosswise.

Once the fruit was thoroughly rinsed, preparing it was a breeze. I sliced the oranges and then quartered the slices, though you can keep them whole or half if you prefer. I sliced the star fruit and removed the seeds. I tossed the orange and star fruit slices and whole blackberries into a glass pitcher. I added 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of brandy.

I made this batch of sangria the night before I planned to serve it, so it chilled in my refrigerator overnight and then some. The flavors were really robust by the time I poured in about two cups of lemon-lime soda, and then poured over ice for serving. I garnished our servings with fresh mint leaves.

This white wine sangria was so delicious, not to mention how beautiful. It was a gorgeous

White Wine Sangria with Star Fruit, Oranges and Blackberries

Star fruit adds flavor and whimsy to this white wine sangria, along with oranges, blackberries, brandy and pinot grigio wine.

• Author: Anne Shelton

Ingredients

1 star fruit
2 oranges
2 (6-oz) packages of blackberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brandy
1 (750-ml) bottle of pinot grigio
2 cups lemon-lime soda
Fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

1. Rinse and prepare fruit. Slice star fruit and remove seeds. Slice oranges, then quarter the slices.
2. Put sliced oranges and star fruit and whole blackberries into pitcher.
3. Add sugar and brandy. Stir gently.
4. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Add lemon-lime soda.
6. Pour over ice and garnish with mint.

Notes

We used Bella Sera pinot grigio and cava cava oranges.

and refreshing way to wind down a spring evening.