Sangria

The history of Sangria is fairly simple. As Rome conquered Europe, they continued expanding outward, eventually reaching the Iberian Peninsula, which is what we know as Spain and Portugal today. On their way, the Romans planted grapes to be able to make wine. At the time, water wasn't safe to drink, so it was a common practice to add alcohol, herbs, spices, and anything else that might kill of bacteria. The problem was that the table wine was so terrible that people would do anything to mask the flavor. This included adding fruit, juices, and even other types of alcohol to the wine in order to make it more palatable. Water may have since been made safe to drink, but the practice of making punch out of wine hasn't faded. Let's hope it never does.