Sangria: The Perfect Summer Solstice Drink

By Mrs. B

When you research the sabbats, you can find a long list of “traditional” sabbat fare. The foods listed may or may not be something that you really want to cook and eat, though! I think it is up to the modern domestic witch to come up with food and drink that celebrate the ideas behind the sabbat, but still create a delicious and inviting menu.

This first recipe I’ll share with you is my favorite Summer Solstice drink, Sangria. There are as many versions of this drink as fish in the sea, but this is the one I reach for in the summer. While this version does contain alcohol, it is easily modified to create a non-alcoholic version. And it’s easy enough to make a batch of each to cover all your party guests! To make it easy to tell the difference between the two, create one with a red wine, and one with a white grape juice (or vice versa) and clearly label which is which. This will prevent any mishaps.

The ingredients you’ll need for this drink are: a bottle of your favorite table wine, peach schnapps, pomegranate liquor, and seasonal fresh fruits of your choosing. For the non-alcoholic version, substitute a good quality grape juice (white or red), pomegranate juice, and the juice from a can of canned peaches (you can use the peaches in the drink as well). Just substitute the same amount of corresponding ingredients in the recipe.

Fruit juice is a traditional drink for the Summer Solstice and wine is always a good substitution for adults. Peaches might not be quite in season by the end of June, but for me, the smell of peaches just brings summer to mind, no matter when I smell them. I add pomegranate as a tip of the hat to Demeter and Persephone and the changing seasons – it also lends a real depth of flavor and tartness to the wine. Fresh fruits celebrate abundance, the season, and, depending on what you use, can be used symbolically.

I start out cutting up my fruit and adding it to a nice glass pitcher. I cut citrus fruits into wheels, symbolizing the turn of the seasonal wheel, and the sun. Be sure to remove as many of the seeds as you can from the fruit before putting them in the pitcher.

A nice tart, granny smith apple is cut horizontally to show the five pointed star.

Almost any fruit that will hold it’s shape while sitting in a liquid can be used in sangria.

Next up, I add a shot glass (a standard shot is 1.5 oz.) of of the pomegranate liquor (this one is called Milady, which I thought was appropriate!):

and then a shot of the peach schnapps.

Fill the pitcher with wine:

and refrigerate for a few hours to chill and let all the flavors marry and soak into the fruit.

Serve and enjoy responsibly!