Sangria: The Blackberry Business | Nik Snacks

With fresh blackberries, blackberry wine, blackberry liqueur, a little citrus and a whole lot of fun, The Blackberry Business is a great sangria to drink with friends, have as a cordial after dinner or with snacks, sip on while day drinking or to pregame before safely social distancing with friends.

This week's sangria isn't for Saturday. It's for TODAY.

Fresh blackberries

I was asked by organizers at local non-profit Venture Cafe Winston-Salem to help them celebrate their third anniversary by creating an exclusive sangria recipe. The flagship program of Venture Café is the Thursday Gathering, an informal weekly event where entrepreneurs to exchange ideas. 

THE GOAL: sharing the recipe and how to make it during a live video conference at Thursday Gathering.
THE RESULT: The Blackberry Business

Everything you need to start your business

It's a play on words. Blackberry is a seasonal fruit and the BlackBerry is a smartphone that was designed for the businessperson. And Venture Cafe is all about business, so why not put the two together?

The Blackberry Business in my home office

Here are some tips to make the sangria your own:

1. DO NOT rinse your berries until you are ready to use them. If you do, the berries will mold faster under refrigeration.

2. DO freeze your blackberries. Rinse them, lay them on parchment paper or plastic wrap on top of a sheet pan and place it in your freezer. 20-25 minutes later, the berries will be frozen solid and you can store them for future use. Use the frozen fruit to chill your sangria without using ice, which melts and can dilute your beverage.

3. DO substitute other brands of wine or liqueur. Don't have blackberry wine? Use a sweet red wine blend. Don't have Chambord? Use a ruby Port. No vodka? Leave it out.

4. DO NOT add the Sunshine beverage until you are ready to serve the sangria. It is a carbonated product and the effervescence will dissipate if you add it too early.