How to make Olive Garden Sangria' s

While wine is a beverage that's enjoyed throughout the year, it's sangria – the light, fruity, sweet wine cocktail – that truly symbolizes summer. Summer also means patio season with good food, good friends and good drinks, all of which are even sweeter if those sangrias came from Olive Garden.

Yes, Olive Garden. While the restaurant chain has always been famous for its breadsticks, its delicious, fruity sangrias deserve their time in the sun. And the best part is that you don't even have to step foot in the restaurant to get one. Instead, try these copycat Olive Garden sangria recipes; they more than measure up to the real deal. Time to get sippin'.

Total Time: 20 minutes | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 8

This berry sangria is probably the most popular out of all of Olive Garden's sangrias. It's a refreshing treat to sip on a sunny day or to take to the patio at night for some much-needed downtime. Here's the easy recipe.

Ingredients:

• 750 milliliters

  red wine  2 cups cran-raspberry juice 1/4 cup simple sugar syrup * Fresh berries such as strawberries, blackberries or blueberries to garnish

Directions:

1. In a large container, combine all the ingredients except the fresh fruit. 
2. Stir thoroughly.
3. Let the mixture stand for a few hours. 
4. To a glass, add ice and then the fresh fruit and sangria.
5. Garnish the glass with a strawberry if you'd like. 

This drink is definitely fall-inspired. After all, what could be more fall than apples? When mixed with the sweet taste of moscato, the combination is a hit. You can make the drink sour by adding sour apple liquor. Here's the recipe.

Total Time: 10 minutes | Prep Time: 5 minutes | Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 750 milliliters moscato
• 6 ounces pineapple juice
• 6 ounces Granny Smith apple puree
  
• 8 cups ice
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup orange slices
• 1/2 cup green apple slices

Directions:

1. In a large pitcher, combine the chilled moscato, pineapple juice and  apple puree. 
2. Stir thoroughly to combine.
3. Grab a glass and add several ice cubes.
4. Pour the sangria over ice. 

Total Time: 20 minutes | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 8

Nothing says summer quite like watermelon, so it's only natural to use this refreshing fruit to create sangria. The best part is, it only takes a few simple ingredients. Follow this recipe by Brio Smart Life.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups cubed watermelon
• 2 bottles moscato 
• 16 ounces watermelon vodka
• 24 ounces lemon-lime soda
• 2 ounces simple syrup or raw honey 
• Mint and lemon slices to garnish

Directions:

1. Using a blender, blend cubed watermelon on high until well pureed. 
2. Using a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth over a pitcher, strain the watermelon. Discard the pulp and try to get in as much watermelon juice as possible. 
3. In the pitcher, add the moscato, watermelon vodka and soda. Stir.
4. Adjust the sweetness as necessary by adding simple syrup or raw honey, 1 tablespoon at a time and stirring in between. 
5. Add ice to the pitcher and store in the fridge for two hours. 
6. Be sure to stir the sangria to recombine the ingredients when ready to drink. 
7. Grab glasses, add ice into them, and pour sangria over ice. 
8. Garnish with mint and a skewer of watermelon. 

Sangria is the drink of the summer, and these copycat Olive Garden versions will take your summer up a notch.