This sangria began as a delicious addition to my bachelorette party last August; a sunset picnic at Kits beach with amazing friends, food, and a rather large collection of champagne. Lela, a great friend and co-worker of mine brought a cold thermos full of gin, San Pellegrino limonata, and unsweetened cranberry juice. As someone who is not overly fond of sweet beverages I fell in love with this concoction and have been using it as my drink du jour ever since the weather has turned warmer. Last Sunday I hosted a brunch with some friends and family and turned The Lela from a cocktail into a huge pitcher of sangria with the addition of white wine and lemon slices. All I can say is that this deliciously mouth puckering mixture of ingredients was a hit with my guests as well as leaving all of us slightly tipsy for the duration of the afternoon. The taste of the gin is almost entirely masked by the tartness of all the remaining ingredients, producing a sangria that is quite a bit more potent than one would think. I used vinho verde for the white wine as it’s very dry, one note, and ever so slightly effervescent.

gin and limonata sangria (or, “the lela”):

1 bottle of vinho verde

2 cups of gin

5 cans of San Pellegrino Limonata

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice OR pomegranate juice

1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds

Lots of ice

Combine all ingredients except ice in a large pitcher. Allow to chill for several hours. Add ice and serve.

I’m back in an Ulrich Schnauss phase at the moment, when I first moved to Vancouver almost 4 years ago I listened to his music when I went walking every day. It randomly came on my iTunes the other day and it’s since become my soundtrack for all the time, especially when getting brunch together on the Victoria Day weekend!

Ulrich Schnauss – On My Own