White Peach Sangria Pitcher with Honey-Macerated Peaches

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A pale, floral pitcher sangria built the way Spanish tapas bars do it: ripe white peaches macerated in honey, lemon and brandy until they release their own syrup, then a crisp Albariño poured over and left to chill until the fruit and wine taste like one thing. Topped with cava or soda water right before pouring so every glass arrives cold and lightly sparkling.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe white peaches, pitted and cut into thin wedges
• 1 white nectarine, pitted and thinly sliced (optional)
• 3 tablespoons honey (mild, such as clover or orange blossom)
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 wide strips lemon zest, peeled with a vegetable peeler
• 1/4 cup brandy or Spanish pomace brandy
• 1/4 cup peach liqueur or peach schnapps

• 1 750 ml bottle dry white wine, well chilled (Albariño, Verdejo, or Pinot Grigio)
• 1/4 cup elderflower liqueur (optional, for a floral lift)
• 1/2 cup white peach nectar or white grape juice
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced into rounds

• 1 1/2 cups chilled cava, prosecco, or club soda
• 1 handful fresh mint sprigs
• Ice, preferably large cubes

Instructions

1. Whisk the honey with 2 tablespoons hot water in a large bowl or 2-quart pitcher until fully dissolved and syrupy, about 30 seconds. Stir in the lemon juice.
2. Add the peach wedges, nectarine slices, lemon zest strips, brandy, and peach liqueur. Stir gently with a spoon, then press lightly on a few peach wedges to start them weeping. Cover and let macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes — the fruit will slump slightly and give off a cloudy peach syrup that is the backbone of the drink.
3. Pour in the chilled white wine, the elderflower liqueur if using, the peach nectar, and the lemon rounds. Stir once from the bottom to lift the syrup off the base of the pitcher.
4. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours. The sangria is ready when the wine has picked up a faint blush of peach and the fruit tastes of wine rather than raw fruit. Taste and add honey syrup or lemon juice a teaspoon at a time if it reads too dry or too sweet.
5. Just before serving, fill wine glasses two-thirds full of large ice cubes. Spoon a few macerated peach wedges and a lemon round into each glass, then pour the chilled sangria over, leaving 1 inch of headroom.
6. Top each glass with 2 to 3 tablespoons of chilled cava, prosecco, or club soda. Slap a mint sprig between your palms to wake it up, tuck it into the glass, and serve immediately.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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