Apple Cider Sangria (Fall Sangria)
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 bottle white wine 750ml
- 1/2 cup brandy 120ml
- 2 tablespoons orange liquor such as Cointreau, or orange juice
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 green apple such as Golden Delicious
- 1/2 orange
- 1/2 pear
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1/4 cup pomegranate arils optional
Instructions
- Add the wine, brandy, orange liqueur, orange juice, and apple cider into a large pitcher.
- Chop the apple, orange, and pear into small cubes. Add them to a pitcher along with pomegranate arils and cinnamon stick.
- Stir everything together and chill for 2 - 24 hours.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Which white wine to choose: Dry, crisp wines such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, or pinot grigio are great choices because they counterbalance the sweetness of the apple cider. You can choose an inexpensive wine for this sangria, but it should also be something that you would drink on its own.
- Orange liqueur - you can add more brandy or orange juice instead, but I would really recommend using it. It adds an amazing flavor and sweetens the drink. I recommend Cointreau.
- Apple cider - you can also use apple juice but apple cider tastes better. This is a non-alcoholic beverage, don't confuse it with hard cider (alcoholic) or apple cider vinegar.
- Use crunchy apples such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp, ripe and juicy oranges, and firm pears.
- You can serve your sangria with fruit salad or if you don’t like it, you can use the fruit to infuse the drink then strain it.
- What you could also add: You could add ice to your sangria if you want to chill it more. If you don’t want to dilute your drink you can freeze some fruit and use them to chill your sangria.
If you prefer your sangria fizzy: fill your glass to 3/4 full with sangria, then top it with a sparkling beverage of your choice just before serving (ginger ale, prosecco, sparkling water, club soda). During our trip to Spain, we drank sangrias that were made without anything fizzy so I prefer my sangria flat. - The key to a great sangria is to let it chill, letting all the delicious fall flavors meld together. The longer you chill the sangria the better it will taste, but, on the other hand, a long chilling time will make the fruit too soft and mushy. The sweet spot is to chill it for 2-3 hours - it's enough time to make it flavorful and to keep the fruit crispy (especially apples). Chill it for at least 30 minutes.
- You can store sangria without fruit for up to 2 days in the fridge.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/6 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 215kcal