Sangria Wines, Sherries, and/or Meads

• 4 750-ml bottles Pinot Noir
• 1 16-oz bottle ginger ale
• 4 sweet oranges
• 2 lemons or 5-oz can of grapefruit sections in syrup
• 1 pt fresh strawberries
• 1-1/2 pt fresh blackberries or dewberries
• 4 fresh kiwis
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 fresh pineapple

Wash all fruit. When cutting fruit, do so in glass pie plate to capture all juice that results from cutting. Cut top off pineapple and quarter lengthways. Set 3 quarters aside for another use and cut outer covering off fourth quarter. Slice pineapple into Ľ inch slices and transfer them and captured juice to bowl. Peel kiwi and bananas and slice fruit thinly, transferring to bowl. Remove greenery from strawberries and slice similarly. Remove stems and greenery from blackberries and combine with sliced strawberries. Transfer to bowl. Peel and thinly slice fruit of oranges and lemons, adding to bowl, or substitute small can of grapefruit sections in syrup for lemons. Add all captured juice to bowl. Add ginger ale and wine to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator 24 hours. Serve as is or strain, press fruit, recombine strained wine and pressed juice, and bottle. This is a superior Sangria. [Author’s own recipe]