Berry Sangria

Sangria Senorial, Spanish Red Wine bottle, Brandy and a glass and pitcher full of Berry Sangria.

The Best Sangria

I’ve written and posted a Sangria recipe previously before. That’s not to say that it isn’t the best for it’s genre but that recipe is entirely different, in essence, compared to this one. That Sangria recipe, was a Peach Sangria and it is amazing. This, however, reprises ingredients that make up the general flavors in a particular Mexican soft drink called, “Sangria Senorial”. I’ve included a berry medley in this Sangria recipe to make it different yet full of fruit and fresh flavor, still. Though Sangria is traditionally served with similar ingredients, this recipe is very different and, in my opinion, this is the best sangria.

1 50.7 fl oz bottle of Sangria Senorial.

Sangria Senorial

I don’t think that most of you are aware of my previous work history, experience and/or previous background because I’ve only shared bit’s and pieces from post to post. I am a certified welder and crane operator, among many other things. The point I’m trying to make is that this drink, Sangria Senorial, was on the food trucks that would visit the construction sites and jobs that I’ve worked on for over 20 years. As you may or may not know, many of these food trucks are owned and operated by Hispanics so, I’ve eaten my fair share of Mexican food over the years. This drink, in particular, was usually among the soda selections and one of my favorites to drink with my lunch. It’s a sparkling non-alcoholic Sangria with natural and artificial flavorings or soda. This drink has heavily influenced the way I’ve decided to write this recipe. It’s not the same, by any means, but it does have similar properties but with Alcohol, instead.

1 750 ml bottle of Anciano Reserva 2013 Spanish Red Wine.

Sangria Red Wine

Since Sangria originates from Spain and Portugal, it’s only fitting to use a Spanish red wine so, I picked up this cheap $10 dollar bottle of wine from my state liquor store for this recipe. You may or may not know that I make my own wine and I teach you how to do it as well. But, as I mentioned, for the purposes of this recipe, I felt that it was fitting to use a Spanish Red Wine but, you use what you have. I know that some folks recommend darker wines like a Pinot Noir. Personally, I think that it makes sense to use dry burgundies because Sangria is deluded down and sweetened with so many other ingredients, including fruit, that the balance comes together perfectly.

Berry Sangria bottled ingredients.
Berry Sangria Ingredients:

3 cup Red Wine, 1 750 ml bottle
2 cups Dr Pepper
12 oz Mike’s Hard Lemonade
1/2 cup Simple Syrup
1/4 cup triple Sec
1/4 Cherry shnapps
1/4 cup Brandy
1 lbs Frozen Berry Medley, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries & strawberries

Follow the instructions in the Berry Sangria Video Tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this fruity wine beverage.

Berry Sangria video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet

Bottling and Storing Wine

Full 36 Bottle wooden wine wrack against a small wall in my kitchen.

The Easiest Way to Bottle and Store Wine

This is the Fourth installment to my “How to make Wine” video and blog post series. If you’ve missed the other posts and video tutorials, refer to the link above to get caught up. So far we’ve gone through the “Primary Stage” and the “Secondary Stage” of wine making. We also spent some time with Clarifying your wine and now I’m going to teach you the easiest and best ways to bottle and store your homemade wine.

The amzchef Juicing machine.

Sponser’s for this Post

I was approached by a marketing department to advertise a few products for them. I only agreed to help them because these are directly related to the wine making and storing process.

In the first video of this series, I mentioned that it wasn’t a good idea to blend your fruit but a juicer could be used. So, I looked into this Juicer and it’s exactly what you need for a higher juice yield, when you’re making wine.

This particular machine uses an auger, much like an auger in a meat grinder. Fruit is dropped through the top until it reaches the re claimer and the the auger takes over by feeding and pressing the fruit into the juicer; which separates the pulp from the juice. Both of which are still needed to make your wine so, DO NOT throw the pulp out. Just add them to the bucket the way I demonstrated, in that first wine making video, using the press.

You can purchase one of these Juicer’s HERE using this temporary 20% off Discount code: CX37QTNA

Stainless Steel 24″ BODEGA Wine Cooler 52 Bottle Capacity.

I also received a BODEGA wine cooler from the same marketing group. Again, I’m waiting for the links and discount codes for it as well but, these refrigeration units are ideal for anyone that doesn’t have a basement or a wine cellar; where it’s most often cooler than the rest of the house.

Anyone that can’t afford those kinds of luxuries can possibly find it worth their while to pick up a unit like this to store their wine instead. These units maintain an efficient and stable environment, for wine, set at an exact and constant temperature and runs on only 95 watts of power.

Dark and light wines will vary with different temperatures and your personal tastes will, of course, play a roll in that but this cooler, in particular, ranges between 41° and 68° Fahrenheit in the settings. Warmer temperatures can be set for the red wines and colder chills for the whites.

Personally, I don’t buy wine. I make it. Wine can be very expensive to buy but, in my opinion, it doesn’t make my wine-making any less valuable and it’s worth protecting. I put a lot of work into my process and there’s nothing more valuable in this world than time.

If you’re not into wine or making wine, clearly something like this doesn’t make sense for you. But, if you’re like me and you’re really finding the joy in picking up a hobby like this, that you can enjoy all year long, a wine cooler can really protect your investment.

You can purchase this Wine Cooler HERE with this temporary 20% off discount code: BSLX-77LMQT-CVG9AT

PMGK Homemade wine, bottled and stacked on wine racks in a wine cooler.

Bottling and Storing

In this tutorial, I show you how to bottle wine from a 1 gallon carboy to 750 ml wine bottles. I demonstrate how to siphon and cork the wine using a cheap wine siphon and a Portuguese wine corker. I show you how easy it is to spruce up your bottles with cheap pvc shrink wrap and labels. I also advise you on the type of conditions and environment that is more suitable for wine by demonstrating the use of a wine cooler.

You need to know, however, the proper temperatures that each wine should be properly stored. Though, it would be nice to have a cool basement, a wine cellar or, indeed, a wine cooler like the one I’m advertising, sometimes none of these things are practical. So, let’s dive into next best practice’s.

Dark places are you’re best friend when it comes to the preservation of wine. This means under desks, in corners or closets. Even boxed up will make all the difference. Light, sunlight, in particular, will destroy the wine. That’s why most wines are placed in dark green or brown bottles and wine coolers are made with double pane smoked glass, for protection.

Vibration or constant movement needs to be avoided and heat. So, a basement may be dark and humid for your wine, but if it’s being stored near a furnace or heater, you’re going to quickly ruin your wine. Also, placing a wine cooler in a garage to store your wine, is another bad idea.

Wine bottling, corking and labeling materials for properly storing wine.

Most garage’s lack insulation and, in the Spring, Summer and Fall months, can quite possibly be warmer than any other room in your house. Though you may be thinking,”Hence, the refrigerator”, it’s a bad idea and here’s why.

A compressor will be constantly battling the temperature of the garage to maintain the temperature of your wine. A 30° variance will make your cooler work harder and quite possibly blow the motor, void the warranty and, most likely, ruin you’re wine before you even discover it.

Wine bottles should be stored on their sides. Everyone knows this but do they know why? It keeps the cork wet which in turn keeps it expanded for a tighter fit. The last thing you need is oxygen slipping into your wine and turning it into vinegar.

Any wine should be stored at a minimum of 70° Fahrenheit and much lower for some reds and most white wines and or champagne. 55° F is a nice happy medium and the average temp many red wines should be stored at. 41° F on up is optimal for most light wines and, of course, your own personal tastes will be a factor as well. Many of the tannin’s in darker wine’s can effect the flavor if they’re not stored at the right temperatures so, you can refer to this chart if you’re worried about it.

Wine Serving Temperature Chart
How to make Wine part 4 – Bottling and Storing Wine video tutorial by PoorMansGourmetKitchen

Drinking under Quarantine

Spicy Jalapeno Margarita Mix & Grapefruit Cocktail Mix by LAVA.

These are Great Mixers

This company contacted me recently for a collaboration, which pretty much means that I get to try their product for free and pass on a discount for you, and all for the small price of show casing their product. So, just know that I’m not getting paid for this and I’m sharing my true opinions about these two products.

First off I’m happy with the shipping, 3 days from Florida to the mid-west and nothing was broken. That’s important because I ordered a 6 gallon carboy last week and it arrived shattered with bubble wrap. These mixer bottles are glass too but they both arrived unscathed with no bubble wrap so, that’s saying something.

I received a Spicy Jalapeno Margarita Mixer and a Ruby Grapefruit Cocktail Mix. The Margarita Mixer recipe requires, of course, tequila and Lava recommends vodka or gin for the Grapefruit cocktail mix. I chose to go with gin.

The Jalapeno Margarita I thought was amazing. I salted the rim with chamoy and tajin, which gave it some more kick, and I felt like they paired very well together. Over all, I’ll definitely be adding Jalapeno to my Margarita’s in the future.

The Grapefruit cocktail was good too and probably about as good as it could get. The second time I tried it I liked it even better because I rimmed the glass with honey and sugar and I think that helped balance the sour. My wife thought it was great but we both agreed that we liked the margarita’s better.

Margarita and Grapefruit Cocktails.

How much do they Cost

I only have one con for these products and it is simple; I don’t like the price, and not just because I’m the Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen or because I’m frugal. They’ve included a 10% off discount for purchases over $20 dollars but at $12.99 per 1 ltr bottle(33.8 oz), that still only knocks you down to $11.69, plus tax and shipping costs. Sorry Lava, I’ll stick with Mr. & Mrs. T Margarita Mix for $6.99 per 1.75 ltr (59.2 oz)and just blend in a Jalapeno. And, their Strawberry Daiquiri/Margarita mixer is even cheaper than that but tastes incredible. Plus, I can get it at any Walmart and most grocery stores.

I’m all for supporting small business’s and I love these products but LAVA has just got to be reasonable. If they want these drinks to take off, they need to drop that price down a little more, get people addicted to it, like crack/cocaine, and then hike up the price. Just my two cents.

UPDATE: LAVA has the following response to offer in regards to pricing.

“As far as product pricing goes, we definitely feel you but for online orders unfortunately the shipping company makes most of the money as it costs us anywhere from $9~$10 to ship our glass bottles which are much heavier than plastic and require better packaging. Add to that credit card processing fees, packaging, cost of goods, etc., and it doesn’t leave a whole lot. At retail stores here in California, the bottles retail for about $7.99~$9.99 since we don’t need to ship across the country. Just wanted to let you know for reference. 
The good news is, we are working on a better discount structure for online orders based on bottle volume so if someone orders 2, 3, 4, bottles we can pass additional savings (that we get from the shipping company) on to the customer.”

Lava Mixers Unveiling/Review – Drinking Under Quarantine – PoorMansGourmet