long weekend pink lemonade sangria.

i have a friend, her name is nataschia. she is sweet, kind, unexpectedly hilarious and can photograph the shit out of anything--seriously, she can even make my super shy, usually looks like 'sloth' from "the goonies" in photos boy, look like the model he is deep down inside. apparently the only thing this woman can't do, is make a decent pitcher of sangria. so when she emailed me recently and asked me to post a recipe of a version of this tasty summer treat, (as the last batch she made "burned her throat"), i had no choice but to make her proud. yes, testing and perfecting the perfect cocktail is hard work, but someone's gotta do it.

now i have tried my fair share of sangria over the last few years, (pitchers for $5 in montreal? sure, swing me two), and i am yet to find one i haven't liked yet. usually a combo of orange juice, gingerale and either white or red wine, there isn't one thing about it i'm not a fan of. what i hadn't had the pleasure of trying, was a lemony version of this sweet, sour, sparkling bevy, and i wanted to change that. considering pink lemonade + vodka is one of my favourite drinks, i thought i would take those flavours, and add some vino to it, as everyone knows everything tastes better with vino. 

how we do: pink lemonade sangria

makes 2 pitchers (because i'm italian and can never do things in small doses)

you will need:

1 can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate

500 ml of sugar free lemon fresca

1 750ml bottle of white wine (pinot grigio or riesling)

raspberries

lemons

easy and self explanatory, this recipe can be done ahead of time if serving as a signature cocktail for a party, or when you're shit faced and want something light and refreshing. make up your pink lemonade in a separate container, and while the concentrate is still frozen. to the pitcher you are serving from, add half of the pink lemonade mixture, half of the lemon fresca (i used sugar free as the pink lemonade mix is super sweet on its own) and half of the bottle of wine. i used a local pinot grigio as its main notes are citrus fruit, so it went well with the whole flavour profile i was trying to create. <---who do i think i am?

in a wee bowl i mashed the shit out of 4-5 raspberries with a bit of sugar to make a pulp. <--that's more like it. this went on the bottom of each glass, first for colour, and second to add a pulpiness to the sangria that you normally get when using orange juice and other fruits. fill your glasses halfway with ice (i prefer adding ice to the glasses instead of directly into the pitcher so it doesn't water things down, and so you can make a bigger batch of sangria. always thinking), add your sangria mix and finish with a few raspberries and a squeeze of lemon juice. i added a fat juicy raspberry and a slice of lemon for garnish.

a perfect mix of sweet, sour and bubbly with a nice amount of wine, 2 or 8 glasses of this and you are lovin' life. miss. nataschia, i hope this both quenches your thirst and tickles your fancy, without the burning throat business.