Tango and Sangria !

by Mitra Martin

Has sangria always been intertwined with Tango dancing ? Well, at least since circa 2000 when Sabina started making this yummy one for dancing at Triangulo in NYC. 

From left: me, Anna, Mic, Sabina, and Jennifer at the South Street Seaport milonga, around 2003

Who has a great sangria recipe ? Sangria stories ? Or simply some good tricks on how to transport large amounts of it to community gatherings ? Help us create the ultimate Tango bicoastal sangria resource here, go ahead & post it below !

In New York, the tradition continues with XangriaPractica Tuesday nights at Dance Manhattan, hosted by Xavier Vanier and Jesse Roach carrying on the baton from Robin Thomas. In LA, well, Thursday nights every once in a while you may find a variant of Sabina's special sangria (recipe below) at Oxygen Tango's weekly practica.

sabina's special sangria

recipe from sabina

(really her mother's sangria...)

It's the most simplest recipe around!

All you have to do is mix:

one part triple sec, and

two parts orange juice, and

four parts red wine, and

lime cut into little pieces.

It is best to use good orange juice but you can go with cheap triple sec and wine (like burgundy-in-a-box).

For a superior sangria, mix everything but the lime a few days ahead of time and stick it in the fridge. Add the lime a few hours before you serve. If you want medium-tart sangria, use about one lime per two liters of liquid and put the lime in about two hours ahead of time. The more lime you put in, and the earlier you put it in, the tarter the sangria will be.

There are lots of variations on this basic theme. You can use a different type o juice (strawberry is interesting and rather sweet), you can add more/different fruits (apples, oranges, lemons, pears...), etc. If you would like the beverage to be overall-more-refreshing, mix it with seltzer or other bubbly stuff.