August, and summertime in the UK. Perfect weather to enjoy a favourite tipple in the Domino household. Better still, one to enjoy even more in the garden of an afternoon/early evening, or on holiday around the pool

We love sangria. But it has to be the real thing. No bottled variety please. And certainly not one made with tinned fruit! I’ve been making this delectable treat for nearly 20 years, the recipe given to me many moons ago by an equally delectable Spanish bar owner on the beautiful Balearic island of Majorca. It’s simple to prepare; precise measuring and quantities not required. It’s all down to a matter of taste.

Ingredients:

What’s great with this recipe is that weights, measurements or proportions don’t count. It all comes down to a matter of taste.

A bottle of Red Wine – Always, always use a wine you enjoy drinking. You cannot make a poor wine good no matter what you add, so please, no cheap plonk. You can make this with white wine, rosé or champagne. I don’t drink white wine, and only drink champagne on its own, so I always use a red.

Brandy and Orange Liqueur – Again, always use good quality brands. I always use Cointreau or Gran Marnier. Cheap brands do not do the drink justice.

Banana Liqueur (optional)

Fresh Fruit – Use any combination you like. This is a good recipe for using up fruit that has gone a bit soft or overripe but do try to include apple, orange, lemon, lime. There is no need to skin these. You can also use peaches, nectarines, grapes, cherries, melon, pineapple (I’ll allow tinned), strawberries, blueberries.

Method:

The morning or day/evening before you plan to serve, prepare all your fruit by slicing and dicing into  bite-size pieces; cherries and berries can be left whole, strawberries halved/sliced depending on size.

Place fruit into a serving jug, preferably of glass so you can see all the lovely fruit and colours. Pour onto fruit half a wine glass of brandy, half a wine glass of Cointreau, a measure of banana liqueur if using.

Place jug in the refrigerator and leave overnight to steep.

When ready to serve, add whole bottle of wine, top up jug with lemonade and a few ice cubes.

Taste to check there’s enough brandy and Cointreau in it (cook’s perk), adding more if required.

You probably won’t get much lemonade into the jug so serve extra lemonade separately, along with further ice cubes

Serve in glasses of your choice, and with spoons to eat the luscious fruit at the end.

Enjoy, down to the last drop!