Photo courtesy of Ceiba
It’s so hot around town that people are yearning for the good old days of four-foot snow drifts. Thankfully, a hot summer is made more bearable when chased with our favorite Spanish import: sangria, and there are plenty of spots around town to enjoy it. The wine punch can be made with all types of fruit, optional carbonation and additional spirits, but always includes a touch of citrus and sweetness.
Not all sangria features wine and lemons. In addition to its traditional red sangria, Jaleo offers a sparkling version made with sparkling Cava, strawberries, mint and Licor 43, a vanilla-flavored Spanish liqueur ($7 glass, $18 ½ carafe, $34 full carafe). At its Chinatown location, staff chooses fresh fruit, such as white peaches and blackberries, from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market to inspire a new, seasonal sangria each Friday. It’s prepared tableside and served by the carafe only ($38) until the fruit runs out. Down the street at Zengo, you can order sake sangria ($10 glass) made with the Japanese brew, plus red wine, brandy and fruit. Also downtown, Brasserie Beck serves a blueberry sangria and Cosmopolitan-style sangria, while up on H Street NE, newcomer Star & Shamrock offers a not-as-sweet-as-you’d-think Manischewitz sangria, studded with apples, oranges and pineapple ($6 per glass).
For more traditional DC deals, Casa Oaxaca serves its red sangria during Happy Hour for $4 by the glass and $20 a pitcher. The restaurant will be including a glass as part of its prix-fixe summer restaurant week menu. Ceiba only offers its red and white sangrias, made with seasonal fruit, house-made orange tincture and Patron Citronge Liqueur, by the glass during Sangria Thursdays — when you can order it for $5 all day. Guests can always order it by the 1/2 liter carafe ($16). Dupont Circle’s Café Citron serves its popular red and white sangria by the pitcher ($25) during Happy Hour, and it’s often a featured special.
Rockville’s Sol De Espana doesn’t let its sangrias sit around. All drinks are made to order, and the wine punch is served by the ½ pitcher ($15.50) and pitcher ($20.50). Both the white, which includes peach juice in its white wine mix, and red options are on special for $16.50 a pitcher from 5:30 to 7 p.m. during the month of August. La Tasca offers 11 different sangrias at its Rockville location, as well as its three other restaurants in the area. Prices range from $6-$7 per glass and $22 to $28 per pitcher, are half priced during daily happy hours, and feature every flavor you could desire from pineapple juice and whipped cream, orange juice and sparkling white wine, to a kicker of Red Bull.
If you’d rather cool off and get out of town, several Virginia wineries offer sangria specials and spectacular views. Sunset Hills Vineyard in Purcellville is hosting two Fiesta Fridays in August, keeping the tasting room open until 9 p.m., and offering sangria by the glass ($7) made with their 2008 Merlot to sip on their giant porch while watching the sun go down. Miracle Valley in Delaplane offers sangria by the glass ($7), ½ pitcher ($25) and pitcher ($45) to share with a group on weekends. The wine punch is made with a bottle of Miracle Valley’s Stainless Steel Chardonnay and a bottle of its Symphony dessert wine, which is a blend of 6 varietals. Guests can buy a three-pack of vino to continue their celebration at home for 20% off. Philip Carter in Hume offers a puckery sangria made with its Stillhouse Cabernet Franc, fruit and frozen lemonade, on the weekends by the glass ($6) or pitcher ($23) on their patio. And Barrel Oak Winery, also in Delaplane, pours sangria by the glass ($8.50) and the pitcher ($35) and often pairs the treat with live music on their patio overlooking the mountains.
Where to go:
La Tasca: Locations in DC, Arlington, Old Town and Rockville; www.latascausa.com
Café Citron: 1343 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC; 202-530-8844; www.cafecitrondc.com
Ceiba: 701 14th St., NW, Washington, DC; 202-393-3983; www.ceibarestaurant.com
Brasserie Beck: 1101 K St. NW, Washington, DC; 202-408-1717; www.beckdc.com
Sol De Espana: 838-C Rockville Pike Rockville, MD; 240-314-0202; www.elsoldeespana.com
Jaleo: Locations in DC, Bethesda and Arlington; www.jaleo.com
Star & Shamrock:1341 H S., NE, Washington, DC; 202-388-383; www.starandshamrock.com
Barrel Oak Winery: 3623 Grove Ln., Delaplane, VA; 540-364-6402; www.barreloak.com
Sunset Hills Vineyard: 38295 Fremont Overlook Ln., Purcellville, VA; 540-882-4560; www.sunsethillsvineyard.com
Miracle Valley Vineyard: 3661 Double J Ln., Delaplane, VA; 540-364-0228; www.miraclevalleyvineyard.com
Philip Carter Winery: 4366 Stillhouse Rd., Hume, VA; www.pcwinery.com
Thank for the mention guys! If anyone comes in and mentions this On Tap article they’ll get $5 off our pitchers of red sangria! Come on out to visit Barrel Oak Winery, it is going to be a perfect Fall in Virginia Wine Country!
Barrel Oak Winery never disappoints! We’re hooked.