Two-minute Sangria the right way

AP:

There is a right way to make sangria. It usually involves a dozen or more ingredients and a lot of time.

But when I'm in the mood for something boozy and fruity, often as I'm about to slap something on the grill, taking the time to do it right is an approach that just doesn't work for me. Because doing it right generally means slicing and chopping a lot of fresh fruit, then sitting around patiently for an hour (some recipes say a day) while the flavours meld.

So, over the years, I have perfected the wrong way to make sangria, a recipe that makes a deliciously refreshing fruity-winey cocktail by the glass in about two minutes.

And sometimes even that is too much for me. Sometimes I simply fill a glass with red wine, add a tablespoon of sugar, a splash of lime juice and a few ice cubes and call it good. But for those days when you're willing to do just a bit more, here are my recipes for red and white wrong way sangria.

With either recipe, if you'd like to cut the sugar, a packet of stevia sweetener works fine.

Note: Because this is a by-the-glass recipe, I usually just use whatever wine I happen to have open.

But if you are buying wine specifically for this, follow the same rule as you would for cooking with wine-neither too expensive nor too cheap.

Red wrong way sangria

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients

5 ounces red wine

2tbsp grenadine

1tbsp sugar

Juice of 1/2 lime

2tbsp 7-Up or other lemon-lime soda

Ice

Method

In a tall glass, combine the wine, grenadine, sugar and lime juice. Mix well, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the soda, stir gently, then add the ice.

White wrong way sangria

Start to finish: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients

5 ounces white wine

3 ounces mango or guava juice

1/2tbsp sugar

2tbsp ginger beer or other ginger ale

Ice

Method

In a tall glass, combine the wine, juice and sugar. Mix well, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the soda, stir gently, then add the ice.

Food editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook 'High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking'. Follow him to great eats on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JM_Hirsch or email him at jhirsch(at)ap.org.