Guides

Easy Sangria Bar: DIY guide

August 25, 2020

Wines and Fruits.. lots of it for this easy sangria bar DIY guide! Are you in the process of planning/organizing a wedding? event? celebration? or maybe for a get-together?

One of the things that make weddings or any celebration awesome is great drinks. If you’re planning to set-up a sangria bar (because everyone loves sangria!) for your next backyard, micro / intimate wedding, or event, we’ve come up with a cheat sheet so you can build the best easy DIY sangria bar that would impress your guests.

Easy Sangria Bar: DIY guide. Let’s get started!

Prepare the basics
Go crazy with the fruits
Styling (super fun!)

Let’s go over these points in detail!

1. Prepare the basics

Please choose your favorite red, white, and rosè sangria recipes and pour them into lovely glass dispensers. Place the dispensers on a table that will serve as your bar.

If you have kids as guests, you can also offer an alcohol-free version by mixing various fruit juices.

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2. Go crazy with the fruits

Please don’t skimp on the variety of fresh fruit slices so your guests could enjoy more add-ons to their drinks. You can use berries, oranges, pineapples, kiwis, apples, grapes, lemons—the sky’s the limit!

A beautiful way to present this is to put the fruits inside a clear beverage dispenser (or any clear wide-mouth glass containers would do) and place them together in a deep serving tray with ice to keep them fresh.

PRO TIP: If you want to keep the sangria chilled but avoid watering it down, use frozen fruit slices to replace the ice. This also makes it tastier!

You can also offer fresh mint, basil, and other herbs that go well with fruity flavors.

You want your easy sangria bar to be extra sweet? You can make the easiest classic syrup: pour sugar in a cup and add water (just enough to cover the sugar) pop it in the microwave for 25 seconds. And voila! You’re ready to sweeten things up!

Typically we would be suggesting gorgeous serving trays etc. However, if you would like a less contact set-up, it’s safer to choose pre-make drinks like this.

You can purchase diced fruits ahead of time, store them in the freezer, and on the day of (we would suggest 30 mins before the guest arrives) pour it into the mix. The mix itself can be done earlier during the day.

Since it is safer to have this drink pre-made, you can make 2-3 variations to kick it up a notch. You can prepare white, red, and sparkling sangria (these are my top 3 faves!)

So how you prep these is you can “pre-pour” them into individual glasses with the fruits already in them! A “less contact” approach to a DIY easy sangria bar!

You can hire a bartender for 4 hours (or however long you need!) to ensure that this sangria station is clean and stocked. Companies like Staff Shop can hire a bartender and/or server for your event!

PRO TIP: If you are not interested in hiring a bartender, use a one-hand beverage dispenser like this to limit touching. For the wines and liquor, there is also this one-hand liquor dispenser. Also, there are tasteful plastic wine goblets that are great to use. Ensure to put up a sign that says “NO REFILLS. PLEASE USE A NEW CUP EACH TIME.” This limits contact of products and people and also just overall more sanitary for your easy DIY sangria bar.

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3. Styling (super fun!)

Serving sangrias on lovely jars is already a pretty sight, but if you want to elevate your DIY bar, you would have to add some touches here and there, depending on your theme. We’d love to help you out with design! Please email us!

If your theme is a little bit fancy or glam, you can use martini glasses or wine goblets (like previously mentioned, there are tasteful plastic ones that will help avoid touching tongs/fruits, and also encourage guests to use a new glass every time the go for the next glass!) and fill it with fruit slice (mint is a great addition too!) and straws already in it, so they can just add their choice of liquor/wine.

You don’t need to break a sweat so that you can create a stunning DIY easy sangria bar. All you have to do is get the basics ready and have a little creativity to add some flair while keeping in tune with your theme.

CREATIVE TIP #1: Prepare glasses with fruits instead of just prepping them in an empty glass.

CREATIVE TIP #2: Opt for a universal stemless wine glass. This makes it easier for your guests to hold it and place it down somewhere – especially if you have a more relaxed lounge cocktail event.

CREATIVE TIP #3: Label your stations and fruits and flavors on the table. Essentially create a menu for your guests to be able to know what is in their drink. You can also include the wine that you used or leave the bottle out for them to see.

If you’re choosing a more cocktail event, appetizers or mini sandwiches will be a great combination!

Remember that you might want to consider having coverage, like wedding/event insurance, to give you extra peace of mind if you are serving alcohol.

If you opt-out of hiring a wedding planner or coordinator but still need set-up help, there are staffing companies like Staff Shop, where you can hire help directly and not worry about other things needed to be executed on the day of the event.

**The execution of your event using our guides will depend on how open you are to alternatives, other options, and unexpected products/design/ideas. It is suggested to do a concept trial and set your comfort level to make it a much easier and faster execution.**

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