Sip (Watch Tweet) Summer with my blackberry watermelon rosé sangria.

Sure, summer means our favorite scripted shows are on hiatus. We are inundated with reality TV, reruns, documentaries and cable summer shows. The upside is that these days, there are some brilliant summer shows. Orange Is The New Black, Ray Donovan, The Affair, to name a few. Some of you aren’t fans, but I’ve always said, to me the true start of summer is the first airing of CBS Big Brother (premiere set for June 28th this year). Bachelor in Paradise is a summer staple of a lot of us but who knows when or if that’s coming. See this: Bachelor In Paradise Stops Production For Misconduct

Ok enough of the “watching”, let’s get to the “sipping”. Love rosé? Love watermelon and blackberries? You’re going to love my latest sangria. Both fruits are at their sweetest as they are in season. As I always reiterate, the key to fantastic sangria is and will always fresh, seasonal fruit. Here’s the recipe, please feel free to mix, sip, (watch and tweet) with my Blackberry Watermelon Sangria.

BLACKBERRY WATERMELON ROSÉ SANGRIA
1 bottle Grenache rosé
1c white brandy
1/4c sage agave simple syrup*
1/2c pressed watermelon juice**
1/2 of a seedless watermelon (cubed)
1 basket of blackberries (approximately 2 cups)
1 key lime (juiced)
Place whole blackberries and cubed watermelon in a huge pitcher. Pour in the rosé, white brandy and watermelon juice. Put the pitcher in the refrigerator to “steep” for at least an hour. Then stir in the key lime juice and sage simple syrup.
*To make sage agave simple syrup: bring to boil in a deep saucepan, 2 cups agave nectar, 2 cups of water and 6 sprigs of sage. Boil until reduced to about half. Allow to cool completely before adding to sangria.
**If you prefer to juice the other half of your watermelon, that’s fine as long as you have a good juicer that removes some pulp. Otherwise, use only fresh pressed watermelon juice from your local juice bar or farmer’s market. Nowadays, some good grocery markets carry it as well, next to the fresh fruit department.

Your sangria will last in the refrigerator for up to a week but I doubt you’ll need it to. Mix, follow me on twitter and #SipWatchTweet this summer with Blackberry 🍉 rosé sangria.