The last of the blood oranges this year? No more? It seems the season is coming to an end. After using up all the oranges I had for the sangria recipe I wanted a few more for photos, but they are becoming harder to find these days. I found some Cara Cara oranges, which are pink inside, like red grapefruit, but it wasn't quite the same. So my photos are lacking in garnish, but no worries as this tasted great! I used blood oranges in a salad a while back and thought I would be making blood orange mimosas next, but I came across this recipe and wanted to try something new. This is my first attempt at sangria. I appreciate wine so much that I'm hesitant to load it up with fruit and such, but I've had really great sangria dining out and decided to give it a try.

I was drawn to this particular recipe because it uses white wine and berries, and I love the color, it's a really good recipe, I think I would have added more fresh juice, it calls for juice of 4 oranges, but I think 5 or 6 would work well. Also I used a Pinot Grigio, but a Sauvignon Blanc that's citrusy could work nicely. I skipped the sugar rim fearing it would make the drink too sweet, and I think it might have been a bit too much (for me), but everyone's taste is different so I'll include the optional sugar rim. Recipe below. Cheers!

Blood Orange Sangria
(adapted from How Sweet It Is)

6 blood oranges (+ more for garnish)
2 bottles of pinot grigio
1/2 cup brandy
1 cup of strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup of raspberries
1 apple, chopped
1 cup sparkling water*

Juice 4 blood oranges and strain. Chop the remaining 2 oranges. In large pitcher combine the juice, fruit, wine and brandy. Stir until well combined. Let sit for 24 hours. Add sparkling water right before serving.

Sugar Rim (optional)

1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 blood orange

Combine zest with sugar in small bowl. Transfer sugar mixture to plate, run lemon or orange slice around rim of glass, dip the rim in the sugar mixture.

* If the sangria is going to sit a day or two wait on adding the sparkling water, alternatively you can add a splash to each glass before serving.