Agree with the other posts that it should be cheap and dry w/o oak. Proabbly a Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling probably doesn't have enough alcohol/acidity to balance the fruit, though you should also be adding brandy which will give a little bit of the alcohol oomph needed. What you are really going for is a simple wine that will provide a good basel and mesh well with the fruit you are adding to it.

You do need to amke sure that it does taste good on its own, bad tasting wine will still mess up the sangria even after adding the fruit. It's like the rule for cooking wine, if you wouldn't drink it, why would you put it in your food.

9:03 here. Good point about Riesling. I hadn't thought of that.
Some Rieslings would probably be OK (the $10 ones I like from Hogue or Chateau St. Michelle would stand up), but a lot of cheap ones probably wouldn't--they can be sweet and flabby. In the cheap sangria wine category, you can probably do better.

You can get some good cheap white wine at Whole Foods (around $4). Add white grape/peach concentrate (but don't dilute fully, since ice will do that -- use about 2 cans of water instead of 3), Poire Willem or some other light colored fruity liquer, slice kiwis or pears and white grapes. Just before serving, add pro secco. Yummy.

I usually use moscato because it's fruity and pairs well with the brandy I add.

Agree with the other posts that it should be cheap and dry w/o oak. Proabbly a Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling probably doesn't have enough alcohol/acidity to balance the fruit, though you should also be adding brandy which will give a little bit of the alcohol oomph needed. What you are really going for is a simple wine that will provide a good basel and mesh well with the fruit you are adding to it.

You do need to amke sure that it does taste good on its own, bad tasting wine will still mess up the sangria even after adding the fruit. It's like the rule for cooking wine, if you wouldn't drink it, why would you put it in your food.

So what did you go with, OP? More interested in the recipe than the wine (though curious about that too).

I usually use what is known as white table wine

Go cheap, dry, and unoaked. A big bottle of chilean sauvignon blanc would be nice.

Viognier is lovely wine, but it's usually not cheap. If my party hostess has viognier to serve, I want it to sip it from a wine glass, not gulp it with fruit floating in it.

What about a Viognier if you are looking for more of a fruity flavor?

Look at epicurious.com's drinks section for berry sangria. They call for a dry rosé. I've made this the past few summers for parties and people seem to really like it.

Careful with sauvignon blanc for your sangria. New Zealand or French (Loire Valley) sauvignon blanc classically has a "grassy" flavor that wouldn't be very good mixed with all that fruit. You want a fruitier sauvignon blanc, i.e., one from California (or maybe Washington). As long as you follow the "keep it cheap" rule you ought to be OK. Most cheap sauv blanc is a little on the fruitier side.

Sauvignon Blanc will also work well for cooking

The main criterion is that it be cheap. You're mixing it with all that stuff, so it's not worth paying for the fine stuff you're going to sip and savor.

The next thing is that you don't really want big and oaky. Skip the California chardonnay.

Just about anything else will work. Think light and fruity. vinho verde's a good choice, so is pinot grigio, so is pinot blanc or riesling. But really, just about any old thing you pick up for $5 or $6 at Trader Joe's. Sangria is a good use, for instance, for Barefoot wines.

Blends like menage a trois would be fine too, but you might be overpaying.

Vinho verde.

Also accepting recipe suggestions