Watermelon Ercavio Sangria

It’s hot in Chicagoland today, so we’re glad to be heading to a pool party for the afternoon. Norps thought he’d throw together a simple, refreshing white Sangria to help cut through the heat. He ran around Friday gathering the ingredients:

¼ red or pink watermelon (for melon ice cubes)

4 cups yellow watermelon, cubed

1 bottle 2007 Ercavio Blanco white wine

4 ounces Premium Orange Liqueur or Cointreau

4 ounces basil-infused simple syrup

3 oranges

3 limes

1 bottle Presto Moscato Dolce

Let’s get started making the sangria.

In a food processor, place the cubed watermelon and puree; strain through fine mesh sieve; pour into serving pitcher.

Slice one orange and one lime thinly; add to watermelon mixture in pitcher.

Juice remaining oranges and limes; add juice to pitcher.

Add Premium Orange Liqueur or Cointreau; simple syrup & white wine.

Chill overnight.

While you’re chilling the Sangria, you can get going on the melon ice cubes. Using a melon baller, make melon balls from the red or pink watermelon. Place in a single layer in a pie pan or rimmed baking tray & store in the freezer overnight.

To serve, pour over a glass of ice & top off with Presto Moscato Dolce. Garnish with three melon ball ice cubes. Kick your feet up and enjoy.

A Tip

You probably won’t find a basil-infused simple syrup at the grocery store, but it’s easy to make. They’re always equal parts sugar to water, and you basically want to melt the sugar as water evaporates to create a smooth, clear syrup.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 large bunch fresh basil

Let’s get started:

Add all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Most simple syrups have you simmer for about three minutes, but in this case, we want the basil to steep in the syrup, so lower the temperature to extend the time. This should allow the mixture to reduce about a quarter in volume creating a smooth syrup. Be sure not to take it to an amber color because you’ll be burning the sugar, which creates caramel. Cool to room temperature & remove the basil. You can refrigerate simple syrup for up to two weeks.

A Few Substitutions

We were going to use Cointreau, but when we got to the liquor store, we realized it was twice the price as what we had found at Target. A bottle of John DeKayper & Sons 03 Premium Orange Liqueur was hanging out on the shelf next to the Cointreau and happened to be on sale. Not only did the price catch our attention, but the fact that it was made from Brazilian oranges. Pool party, Brazilian; no-brainer. Whatever your motivation, we were looking to play off the orange flavors.

If you don’t have a bottle of Ercavio Blanco, any wine that is dry, fresh, crisp and medium-bodied would work. You might consider a dry Riesling, as long as it’s not overly sweet. Whatever you use as a base, you don’t want the to overpower the fruit. In this Sangria, the wine merely provides the skeleton to support the variety of fruit flavors that will come together in a cool summer surprise.