Sangria’s long had a reputation as an easy and economical drink for the masses, but that’s not quite right… at least it shouldn’t be
A World’s Fair used to be a tremendous phenomenon, something that is now mostly ancient history. To imagine the scale of such an event, think of an Olympic Games-style international showcase, one that lasts for months and draws millions of visitors. Business, government, arts, entertainment, and everything in between, from countries all around the world, converge on a city to boast its class, its products, and its culture to the world. Countries would go all out, spending millions of dollars on showcases, exhibits, and infrastructure. Much of what was accomplished at World’s Fairs can now be done at comparative light-speed via the internet. Add that to the list of things the internet ruined.
Like the internet, World’s Fairs were responsible for and influential in growing movements, expanding markets, and introducing goods and services to people across the world. Some of the most important innovations of our lifetimes have been introduced at various World’s Fairs, such as the color television and the telephone. Even the Eiffel Tower made its debut at a World’s Fair. Some, maybe less important innovations have also made their debuts at World’s Fairs, just like sangria did at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair.
The 1964-65 New York World’s Fair brought an estimated 51 million visitors to Queen’s Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The 80,000 square foot Spanish exhibition was objectively one of the most popular of the entire fair. In an August 1964 issue, Life Magazine dubbed the Spanish pavilion as the “Jewel of the New York World’s Fair”. It was so popular in fact, that the exhibit stayed open past the fair’s closing. Locals lobbied for the building to stay in the park permanently. That wasn’t possible, but relocating the building was apparently. The building was later reconstructed in St. Louis where it is now part of a [Hilton] hotel.
A prominent part of the Spanish exhibition was its culinary display. Spanish wine didn’t have a great reputation in the United States at this point in time, and World’s Fairs are perfect to quickly influence an entire culture. The Spanish devised a plan to feature sangria as a vehicle to market Spanish wine more effectively. Making sangria a mainstream stay in the US market was never really the plan, but that’s exactly what happened. Certainly more Spanish wine was sold as a result, but the revenue outpaced its reputation. Sangria had been around for hundreds of years, and it was known for being cheap, easy to make, and of relatively low-quality. It was more or less the equivalent of a college party-style punch. It caught on in the US as just that, an economical beverage to serve en masse, and it’s largely considered in much the same way today. In large part because of that rap, Spanish wine is often – and not justifiably so – still considered behind or beneath its Mediterranean counterparts.
The word “sangria” most likely emanates from the Spanish word sangre, which means “blood”, probably because of its color. Like many food and drinks, the etiology of sangria is muddled. Two things are for sure when it comes to sangria though: it’s origins are linked to Spain and Portugal and the 1964 New York World’s Fair put it on the map. Other than that, who knows?
Sangria is a hodgepodge. It’s comprised of ingredients many people would argue don’t belong together. This is a similar reason many would offer as to why one shouldn’t use an expensive, high quality wine in sangria; the additional ingredients compromise the integrity of the wine. Budget not an object, when I’m on the fence about lower versus higher quality, I’ll always choose higher quality. It doesn’t make sense to me that two sangrias, made the same way but with significantly different qualities of wine, would yield a comparable taste. Or, at least the one using the higher quality wine isn’t better enough to justify its use. I don’t buy it.
Not surprisingly given its muddled beginnings, sangria doesn’t have a traditional way of being made. The recipe featured at the Spanish pavilion called for lemons, oranges, Spanish red wine, club soda, brandy, and cointreau. If you want to make the closest thing to a traditional sangria, that could be considered it.
While the affordability and ease of making sangria has led to mass appeal in the United States, it’s also contributed to its rank in file. Sangria is a hodgepodge. It’s a party drink. It’s hard to be considered a premium beverage when Barefoot is popularizing boxed sangria at ~$5/ liter. Understandably so, you might think twice about corking a $35 bottle of red wine for sangria.
Restaurants certainly do. If you saw a glass of sangria on a menu for much more than $10, you’d probably skip right over it. That price is just about the ceiling for sangria, and it would land it near the bottom of the wine list. If it was listed below a comparably priced crafted cocktail, you’d be a fool to order the sangria. That’s in part why you so often don’t see sangria on menus – let alone above $10/ glass.
There’s a direct correlation between the price of wine and its quality. A $200 bottle of wine is going to be objectively better than a $10 bottle. Consumers and wine enthusiasts appreciate and respect that aspect of wine. Sangria is an aberration. Many already argue that it’s not worth using a high quality wine for sangria. Like, the wine may be fabulous on its own but it’s tainted once the fruit is added. If that’s the case, then what happens if you taint the cheap stuff with fruit?
Wine’s the primary ingredient. It should be the star of sangria. The fruit and liqueur are a gimmick. They always have been. I’ve watched enough true crime series to know that you always follow the money to get to the bottom of it. It’ll take you to the origin. In the case of sangria, it was originated as a solution to repurpose low-quality, otherwise un-marketable wine. To answer our question above, apparently the addition of fruit and liqueur actually made the cheap stuff taste better. If that’s the case, then why not use go for a nice bottle of wine next time?
If you’re a fan of wrestling, then you’re a fan of a good gimmick. Furthermore, you also understand that wrestling is “real”. Sangria too, is a gimmick, and it is “real”. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to find a high quality crafted sangria on the menu of a trendy downtown cocktail bar. It’s the perfect drink for unbridled creativity. There’s no rules. There’s no boundaries. Make a wine punch, and you’ve got sangria. What’s a wine punch? Well, that’s sangria.
Most importantly, and as is true with most of my recipes, use high quality and fresh ingredients.
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