Sippin’ on sangria in Dallas-Fort Worth

by Erin Rice

It's Texas. It's summer. It's oh-my-god-will-this-never-end hot outside. When you consider refreshing alcoholic beverages, wine, particularly red wine, doesn't really factor in. It screams cold nights, drank fireside. Unless of course you add fresh fruits, juices, sodas, and why the heck not, some brandy. Now you're talking summer drink. Now you're talking sangria.

There is no shortage of places around Dallas to grab sangria, either by the glass or pitcher. While the basic ingredients are typically the same, the ratios of the additions and specific fruit flavors employed make this a drink individual to each bar/restaurant. What makes one sangria better than the next is a matter of personal opinion. Some prefer to taste the wine, while others prefer to forget it's there and cover with lots of citrus or sweet juices.

We tried out five places around town that serve sangria, using the more traditional, red wine version as the control (some restaurants offer a white or sparkling version). Here's the rundown:

Mi favorito: Sangria Tapas y Bar

Walking into Sangria Tapas y Bar, I secretly hoped to hate their sangria choice. For crying out loud, they put the word in the name. How presumptuous. But of the five places tested, this sangria was my absolute favorite. Served in a tall, pint-style glass, with tons of ice, the most traditional of their three sangria offerings includes red wine with brandy, citrus, and fresh apples and pears. The wine was the dominant flavor, while citrus and brandy acted more as accompaniments. The apples and pears kept the drink light, not too sweet.

Sangria Tapas y Bar also offers a white wine sangria, with brandy and grapes, and a sparkling sangria, with sparkling wine, Licor 43, and raspberries. While visiting, I also tried the sparkling sangria, which is a very light taste, and even lighter hint of vanilla and citrus in the Licor 43. Looking more like a glass of water with raspberries in it (mine had a blackberry, as well), it was almost too devoid of flavor for my palate. But the waiter explained that it was very popular with the laaadies.

At $4.95 to $5.95 a glass, this was also the cheapest sangria we found. The location has two happy hours, Monday through Friday from 4-7 p.m. and Monday through Saturday from 9:30 to 11 p.m., during which all sangria are $3 a glass, as are select other drinks and tapas.

Gloria's

This Tex-Salvadoran joint's drink was pretty tart using Sprite, orange juice, and cranberry juice with their red wine and brandy. Fruits of choice were strawberries, mangoes, and apples, and the glass was chock full of them, with a single cherry on top. Despite an influx of additions, you could still taste the wine, but also got a hit of the brandy. Another plus is that the drink, served in a large red wine glass, left me feeling a little woozy on the way out the door. There was no shorting the alcohol factor here.

Gloria's has happy hour all day Sunday through Thursday, and depending on which of the ten locations, glasses of sangria are $3 or $4. Some locations also have an early Friday happy hour.

Cafe Izmir

On Tuesdays your wallet will tell you Izmir is the sangria destination du jour. Called "customer appreciation night," a pitcher is just $15, or about how much two single glasses will cost you. (It helps that the Mediterranean style tapas are super cheap Tuesday, as well.) The sangria was a little sweeter than the prior two, with pineapple the dominant fruit. While you could still taste the wine, it was not a strong presence. Several glasses of the punch also did not seem to register in the BAC.

Cuba Libre

Cuba Libre advertises their sangria as pomegranate, but the wine and pomegranate flavors are very overshadowed by the citrus. Lemon and lime wedges are the only fruit garnish in the drink. It was just too tart and lost most of the wine value.

Fireside Pies

A friend suggested that Fireside on Henderson had the best sangria in town, so we tried it over another Spanish or Latin locale. A girl ahead of us in line gushed that the red was tops (they offer a peachy white wine version, as well). But of the five, this sangria was the most disappointing. Could not detect the wine at all on this particular visit, and while a fan of pineapple, that was pretty much all we could taste. The drink was so sweet we gave up on it before finishing.

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When it's all said and done, there are definitely more than just five sangria options around town. Cafe Madrid is often considered a great destination for the traditional red. La Cubanita offers an intriguing mango sangria (sparkling wine flavored with spiced rum & mango). When I called to ask if they served sangria, a confident "of course" from the owner of the newly opened Barcelona Connection gives reason to head to Richardson one day in the future for a taste test.

Did I miss your favorite sangria in town? Tell us about it below.

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