Rosé Sangria for a Park Day

The apple juice gives it a mellow pink-orange color.
It rained about 2 minutes after I took this pic, can you tell?

Most sangria recipes involve red wine and brandy plus fruit. I thought I would bring an intoxicating rosé and vodka for a lighter sweeter day on the picnic blanket. This recipe is designed to make 2 large bottles of sangria. Perfectly portable to sweeten any group up with.

5 medium peaches, plums, or nectarines - pitted and sliced
1 small granny smith apple- cored, quartered and sliced
1/2 pt black berries
juice of 1 lime
1-3 tblsp sugar

1 large bottle of rosé or blush wine
(I bought a Beringer zinfandel which conveniently does not label its volume, but rest assured it was the larger looking bottle)
1 gallon of apple juice
1 cup vodka

Macerate the fruit in a medium bowl with the lime juice and sugar. Macerating gives the fruits time to get to know one another and absorb each other's flavors. The less ripe your fruit the more sugar you will need, so add sugar as needed. Forget about it for 1-2 hours, this is a casual weekend recipe that doesn't need much attention.

This sangria is not in prison, just sitting in a Brooklyn window.

Pour all of the apple juice into an empty pitcher. Pour half of the wine into the now empty apple juice bottle. Divide the fruit and its sweet nectar-like juices between the half empty apple juice bottle and half empty wine bottle, or are they half full, you tell me. Add 1/2 cup of vodka to apple juice bottle, and the other 1/2 cup of vodka to the wine. Fill each bottle close to the top with apple juice from the pitcher. Taste each bottle. I found I need to add a little more vodka at the end to give the drink just a little zing. You will have extra apple juice for another purpose.

Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 1 day before serving. Oh dang, its refreshing and punchy. You will have 2 bottles to intoxicate a crowd with.

Originally Posted 7/3/09