• Start with a large pitcher.
• Slice a lemon and cut up some super sweet strawberries.
• Add a bottle of white wine.
• Add a little simple syrup, about 1/3 of a cup.
• Add about a cup of club soda.
• Fill the rest of your pitcher with champagne (or the whole bottle, if you have room!
• Add ice to wine glasses and enjoy!

My family gets together quite often to celebrate birthdays, special events and the weekend, and I’ll whip up a made-from-scratch drink to serve with whatever meal the celebrant has requested. When it gets hot out, and we’re on the north side of the island, I’ll prepare an oh-so-refreshing cocktail. Occasionally, it goes over better than the food, but I try to keep my drinks and dishes on par so people can enjoy the full experience.

White sangria is the perfect mixture of spring and summer fruits with white wine, soda water and a nice, hefty pour of champagne. My nephew and trusty champagne-loving assistant on shoots (@iamjfoster) thinks it goes with just about anything, and it certainly goes perfectly with this sangria. Between the fresh, sweet fruits and the crispness of the white wine, you’ll find yourself feeling cool and collected on those warm spring days instead of the usual hot with a semi-permanent glisten on your forehead.

So, why do I add champagne? For ages, strawberries and champagne have been paired together, and back in the day, the strawberries were sweeter and the champagne even more sweet giving you this satisfyingly yummy combination.  Today, however, strawberries tend not to be as sweet and champagne tends to be quite dry which may give you a bit of a pucker when you combine the two. (I bet you’re now asking me why I’m telling you this if I’m also about to give you a recipe with champagne and strawberries.) How do you avoid this? Use strawberries in their peak when they’re nice and sweet and pair them with a sweeter style of champagne like an extra dry or a demi sec.

Alternatively, if you’re going to be adding other ingredients to your beverage, then you can rest assured the sweetness from simple syrups and sodas will pare down the acid vs sugar fight on your palate.