Cranberry Apple Sangria
The must have spiced holiday cocktail! With cranberries, apples, oranges, cinnamon and cloves! You can make this ahead of time!
I think I found my favorite holiday cocktail of 2017.
It’s the perfect spiced cocktail with fresh cranberries, apples, oranges, rosemary, cinnamon, star anise and whole cloves.
And you can make this ahead of time and let it chill right in the fridge. When ready to serve, pop open that bottle of wine and pour over ice.
If you want a non-alcoholic version, you can substitute a lemon-lime soda (such as 7-Up or Sprite) for the pinot grigio.
Don’t worry. I got you, guys.
Just because you can’t have wine doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in this festive cocktail for both kids and grown-ups!
Cranberry Apple Sangria
Ingredients
- 3 cups cranberry apple juice cocktail, divided
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 oranges, thinly sliced
- ½ cup halved fresh cranberries
- 2 5-inch sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
- 3 star anise pods
- 8 whole cloves
- 2 cups sliced small apples
- 1 750-mml bottle pinot grigio, chilled
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups cranberry apple juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Stir in oranges, cranberries, rosemary, cinnamon sticks, star anise and cloves. Let stand 30 minutes; remove and discard rosemary and cloves.
- In a large pitcher, whisk together orange mixture, apples and remaining 1 cup cranberry apple juice.
- Let chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Serve over ice with pinot grigio.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Tasty and very festive presentation! Will make again. I did sub some of the sugar with maple syrup.
I have this sitting at the minute and I was wondering if I could use prosecco instead of the Pinot Grigio? Thanks.
This recipe looks amazing and I’m going to try it for an upcoming party. While I don’t know much about making drinks, alcoholic or non, I have 2 stupid questions. First, what exactly does it mean when the recipe says: cranberry apple juice cocktail, DIVIDED ?? And Second, if I can’t find “cranberry apple juice cocktail”, as I have no idea what it means, can I just use Cranberry juice or sparkling cranberry. Thanks in advance.
when it says divided means you need it split in half, as you can see on the recipe 2 different steps involve one portion of the juice. Any CranApple juice you find will serve this well, when it says cocktail is because some are more or less concentrated, but you can experiment with the juices and find your best conbination
Great recipe and idea! I usually make French 75’s for my annual Christmas party but this year I have a friend coming that does not drink…I love the flexibility!
But I’m wondering, how long ahead can I make it? A week?
Made this exactly as written except no star anise (none at the store!). I was so skeptical because pinot grigio is not on my fav list. WOW! My daughter in law and I loved it. So good. Sweet and spiced. We even ate the drunk fruit! Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper.
Made this last year for Thanksgiving, making it again this year. Everyone loved it! It was a perfect fall/winter sangria.
I love how you included a non-alcoholic version
Made this a day ahead for Christmas, 2018. The prep time is real with chopping produce but it is not difficult. The outcome is visually stunning as well as a palatable delight. It was fantastic with a lemon lime soda, white wine or red wine. Next time I might try removing some or all sugar, just to see the difference. I am actually making this again for a superbowl party and my main sadness is that fresh cramberries are no longer available. Note to myself for next fall to stock up as they store pretty well. Thanks for sharing such a lovely holiday beverage!
Hi, I am going to try this recipe for my Christmas Eve party! As I don’t know much about alcohol, I’m sorry to ask a silly question, but what is the ratio of wine to cranberry apple syrup when filling the glass? Thanks!
No worries, Shelly! It is best to divide both the cranberry apple mixture and pinot grigio by 8 servings/glasses. Hope that helps!
The ratio is 1:1. A bottle of wine is about 3 cups, as is the amount of liquid in the syrup (not including the fruit, etc. ). If you divide it into 8 glasses, that should be roughly 1/3 cup of each.
Could you substitute a red wine instead? Or have you done this with gin or vodka?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
What is the maximum amount of time you would keep this in the fridge before serving? Could it be made the day before?
Yes, absolutely.
How important are the cloves and anise pods? Not a huge fan of their flavor but the recipe sounds so festive and perfect for the holidays!
You can omit as needed.
Wow that looks amazing!! May even try this for New Years! (:
Can you make this non alcoholic?
If you want a non-alcoholic version, you can substitute a lemon-lime soda (such as 7-Up or Sprite) for the pinot grigio.
You can kick this up about 10 knotches by chopping the apples and soaking them in cinnamon whiskey, like Fire Ball, and adding it and letting it all set for a bit. You’ll thank me later.