and the recipe for the red

#1 Red Sangria

1. Start with a bottle of red wine. I use Merlot.

2. Pour the bottle into a pitcher.

3. Add 2 cups of ginger ale.

4. Add 2 shots of brandy.

5. Add 2 oranges and 1 lemon. Cut them into decent sized pieces and squeeze the piece  into the pitcher until there is no more juice. Drop the piece into the pitcher.

6. Add cinnamon as you see fit.

7. Taste.         If:

· It tastes too much like wine? Add more ginger ale and a couple of more shots of brandy.

· It tastes too sweet/watered down? Add more shots of brandy and cinnamon.

· Doesn’t have a slight cinnamon aftertaste? Add more cinnamon until it does.

8. Put the pitcher in the fridge and let it sit at least overnight.

I don't know what If rules were followed for the batch of this sangria I tried this weekend, but it was a wonderfully mellow sangria - well worth the time spent making and waiting!