Today’s wine of the day will actually be a cocktail. It just feels appropriate to toast with this today in Hawaii as the trade winds have begun to blow the past few days, the air is finally clean and crisp (as we have been dealing with the volcanic recent activity from the formerly dormant, Kilauea Volcano,) and it just feels like we are on to better days. And with that, a classic Aloha Friday cocktail is in order. And this one is still made with wine.

The sunshine of Hawaii sings for sangria, especially one filled with tropical pineapple, mango, mandarin, and citrus, served nicely chilled over ice. I like to use a dry white wine as the base. You can go very Spanish and use a Verdejo from Rueda, or an inexpensive Arien from La Mancha, mainly use a white that has been produced without the use of lots of oak as you want the fruity freshness of the wine to shine through. If you prefer red wines, no problem, just swap out the white for red, like a fruity Grenache of Gamay, and substitute lots of red, blue, and blackberries, sliced of apple, or ripe plum.

Aloha Friday White Wine Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle of dry white wine, we used Marques de Caseres Verdejo
1/2 cup Cointreau

1 cup peeled pineapple, cut into chunks
1 cup peeled mango, cubed
1 cup peeled and seeded papaya, cubed
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 1/2 cups club soda or seltzer
Mint for garnish

Preparation: In a medium bowl, combine all of your tropical fruits (mango, pineapple, papaya) with the sugar and liqueur (again, you can use Cointreau, Alize Pineapple Liqueur, brandy, etc.) Refrigerate for 1 hour. After the fruit and liqueur have macerated together for a bit, add it to a large pitcher with orange, and lime slices. Pour in white wine and seltzer, and stir to combine. Serve well chilled with a sprig of mint.