Homemade White Wine Sangria and Margaritas

The weather, this past weekend, out on the Chesapeake Bay was perfect! My best girlfriend has a house on the bay and we escape D.C and go out to spend weekends laying out on her pier . We have a routine that begins about 10 a.m and goes until about 4:30 p.m. We like to start the day out on the pier in bikinis accompanied with coffee and summer must-reads. I'm currently gobbling down Ruth Reichl's "Tender at the Bone".

But...we get in a fair amount of caffeine and reading for the next few hours until it is time for something with a little more sustenance and we head into the house for lunch. Upon our return to the pier we begin the afternoon beverages of either the most amazing Margaritas you have ever tasted OR my newly perfected Sangria recipe. I was originally raised in the arm-pit of the state of Texas, a.k.a El Paso. One of the very few things I have taken from those years in the Ol' Border Town is my love and appreciation for quality Margarita. This means a beverage sans sweet and sour mix!

The Best Margarita.
(to get the perfect mixture of ingredients this beverage is better by the glass)

~ 2.25 oz. Tequila (roughly a shot and a half)
~ 1.5 oz of Agave Nectar (a shot)
~ 3oz. orange juice (2 shots)
~ 1 good and juicy lime squeezed completely= about 2 oz of juice (keep the lime and throw it in at the end)
~ 3/4 - 1 cup of water
~ ice
~ Margarita Salt

1. Combine Tequila, Agave, O.J, fresh squeezed lime juice, and water. Stir well.
2. Rub the already squeezed lime along the rim of the glass and then place the rim in Margarita Salt.
3. Carefully place ice and lime in glass without knocking off the salt on the rim.
4. Pour beverage over ice and lime.
5. Lick, sip, and enjoy :)

Homemade White Wine Sangria

~ 1 peach
~ 1 pear
~ 1 green apple
~ 1 orange
~ 1 lemon
~ cup of strawberries
~ cup of blueberries
~ cup of blackberries
~ cup of halved white grapes
~ 1/4 cup of Agave Nectar
~ 2 bottles of Pinot Grigio
~ 1 bottle of Champagne
~ 2 cups of Peach Rum

1. Cut up peach, pear, green apple, orange, lemon, strawberries, and white grapes. Don't bother peeling because the outsides of these fruits are packed with flavor!
2. Stir fruit, blueberries, blackberries, and Rum in a large bowl. Cover and let marinate in the refridgerator for 1-2 hours. However could go overnight.
3. Stir Agave, Champagne, and Pinot Grigio into fruit. Let this sit (covered) at least 2-3 hours or even overnight in the refridgerator.
4. Pour, sip, enjoy.

Note: I pour mine over ice but this is perfectly enjoyable without ice. Also the fruit packs a real punch so be prepared to not remain sober...:)