Welcome, all ye who love summer. The heat of it. The gleam of it. The relaxed, open sensation of it. It’s the time of year when you become “holiday you” and then try and take that person through to the rest of the slightly colder, more insular months. The one who walks barefoot and laughs full-throated at cobbleside tables. Who packs picnics and hopes for fair weather, head tilted upwards, instead of checking the weather forecast. Who throws on a pair of sandals and sunglasses and calls it a day, letting the sunshine melt away your flaws.

This is the drink for you. Make it up the night before and leave it in the fridge – when you’re ready to greet the sun, it’ll be ready to go with you. It’s refreshing, fruity, and packs a summer punch. That is to say, you’ll be happy sipping this on a picnic blanket with good friends – and no other plans.

It goes without saying, but use the freshest ingredients you can. During the summer, peaches are everywhere, drippingly delicious and messy. You lick the juice from your fingers, wipe it, sticky, from your chin, and keep on going until you hit the kernel. And even then you try and worry off those last perfect, sweet, almost buttery-zingy morsels from the honeycomb traps of the kernel itself. At least I do. For this, admittedly, you’ll want to avoid using teeth – a sharp knife and an undaunted approach, when it tries to ooze everywhere, is necessary. Mint lends it a top note, peach gives it a fuzzy warm middle, and the booze gets you right in the good place.

Drink on, my friends, and enjoy the sun. Tomorrow belongs to someone else.

peach and mint white sangria
Serves 4 happily, or 2-3 generously

1 bottle fruity white wine
4-5 tbsp caster sugar
1 apple, diced
3-4 peaches, sliced
A few sprigs of mint

Find a container that will happily sit in the fridge, sealed, and add to it a diced apple, 4 sliced peaches, and a few sprigs of mint. A jug or a plastic cereal container that will fit in the door of the fridge is perfect.

Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and mint and toss it all together to distribute it.
– A word on the sugar: if you’ve selected a very sweet wine, you won’t need all the sugar. Take a sip of the wine before you start and try to gauge its sweetness. If unsure, start the recipe with 2-3 tbsp and add more at a later stage if it needs it.

Pour over the wine and stir. Cover and leave the sangria in the fridge for a few hours or, even better, overnight. When you’re ready to serve (it’s best chilled), decant it – fruit and all – into a jug. Grab a few glasses and some summery nibbles, maybe a few ice cubes if the day is particularly warm, and enjoy.