Casa Lolea, from Spain, produces a red and a white Sangria using their own family recipe.
The packaging is just wonderful. The white, “Lolea No. 2,” is in an off-white bottles with big red polka dots, and the red flips the script. Big bottles come with resealable tops like big bottles of Dutch beer. Small bottles have pop tops.
The white is slightly fizzy and intensely fruity. Peaches, tangerines, and sweet lemon explode in the mouth. The mouth-feel is round, the sweetness strong and lasting.
The red, “Lolea No. 1,” is better balanced, less sweet, with the dry red wine commanding far more of the flavor. Oranges come through clearly, sweetened by, we’d guess, apple juice.
Is this fine wine? No. It’s sweet, it’s inexpensive, and most of all, it’s fun, with sweet fruit, some wine, and some fizz, in happy bottles that just sing “Summer!”