Sangria, in Spanish, means bloodletting, and the usual red wine base for this steeped-fruit wine punch makes the name of the drink pretty obvious and a propos. But I’m partial to white wine, and so white wine sangria, or sangria blanco, was much more up my alley for a recent dinner party. In Argentina sangria blanco is called clerico, which seemed to me a much better name than “white bloodletting.” So we won’t call this Ingrid Hoffman recipe White Kiwi Sangria — we’re calling it Kiwi Clerico.
White Kiwi Sangria (Kiwi Clerico)***
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
1 (750 ml) bottle white wine*
1 c. orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or triple sec
1/2 c. lemon juice
4 kiwis, peeled and cut in thin slices (save a few slices for garnish if desired)
2 green apples with skin, cored and cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 c. green seedless grapes**
1 bottle soda water (1 liter)
Ice cubes**
*This time around, I used Sebeka Wines chenin blanc from South Africa, which is unoaked — a good choice for sangria wine — and has fruity, sweet notes such as pineapple and honey. A commendable sipping wine for summer as well as a base for clerico.
**By the time I got to the grape-adding stage, my 3.5-quart pitcher was practically overflowing. So I stashed the grapes in the freezer for the day and used them as ice cube substitutes when serving.
***I about doubled this recipe, because my pitcher was large enough to allow it.
In a small saucepan on very low heat, heat the water, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve to make a simple syrup.
In a large pitcher, combine the white wine, the orange liqueur, the lemon juice, the sliced kiwis, and the cubed apples. Add the simple syrup. I made this up in the morning so the flavors could meld and the fruit could steep by dinnertime, and stashed it in the fridge with a bit of clear plastic wrap over the mouth. I held back on the seltzer as well, waiting to add it to individual glasses so it was still sparkly and bubbly. The more glasses you drink, the less and less important it will be to you to add the seltzer.
