Apple Cider Sangria
This Fall cocktail has warm flavors, white wine, apple cider and fruit. It's fantastic for Thanksgiving, Halloween parties, and fall celebrations. It comes together in 15 minutes and lasts for hours.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the simple syrup:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup water
For the apple sangria:
- 1 bottle dry white wine like Sauvignon blanc or Pinot Grigio
- 2 cups apple cider
- 4 orange slices
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ½ red apple with skin, thinly sliced
- ½ green apple with skin, thinly sliced
- club soda
Instructions
- Don't add too much fruit from the start, as you might run out of pitcher space for the wine after you add ice.
- Make the simple syrup: in a small saucepan combine ⅓ cup sugar with ⅓ cup water. Stir to moisten and cook over medium heat, without stirring, until it breaks into a boil. Remove and let cool completely. Keep refrigerated in an airtight jar or bottle. It keeps indefinitely.
For the sangria:
- Have a large pitcher (8 cups or more) ready.
- Add 2 orange slices, 2 cinnamon sticks and some ice cubes.
- Pour 1 bottle dry white wine and 2 cups apple cider. Stir a few times.
- Add about ¼ cup sugar syrup and half the red and green apple slices.
- Add more ice and club soda to almost fill the pitcher.
- Stir the sangria and check the sweetness. Add more syrup if needed.
- Serve in glasses with cinnamon sticks and apple slices as garnish.
Notes
White wine: use your favorite. A dry wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio is recommended, but you can use a sweeter one, like late-harvest. Depending on your choice, increase or decrease the amount of syrup or sugar.
Storage:
Without fruit: use a sieve to drain the liquid and pass it to a sealed jar or bottle. Refrigerate the sweet wine but discard the fruit (or eat it). This is my first recommendation if storing it for a few days. Fruit ferments quickly, and there's a good chance the sangria was left outside or at room temperature before you store leftovers. So the fruit will already be heavily macerated.
With fruit: if you store it with fruit because you'll be drinking it again soon, smell and taste it before serving to ensure it's not fermented. How long should sangria soak? Though sangría is made up to 12 hours before serving, you can serve it almost immediately. It won't have the fruity flavor it acquires after hours of fruit slices macerating, but it'll still be a great wine drink. Find your own sweet and fruity spot. You shouldn't stop from making it because you don't have hours to let it stand.
Without fruit: use a sieve to drain the liquid and pass it to a sealed jar or bottle. Refrigerate the sweet wine but discard the fruit (or eat it). This is my first recommendation if storing it for a few days. Fruit ferments quickly, and there's a good chance the sangria was left outside or at room temperature before you store leftovers. So the fruit will already be heavily macerated.
With fruit: if you store it with fruit because you'll be drinking it again soon, smell and taste it before serving to ensure it's not fermented. How long should sangria soak? Though sangría is made up to 12 hours before serving, you can serve it almost immediately. It won't have the fruity flavor it acquires after hours of fruit slices macerating, but it'll still be a great wine drink. Find your own sweet and fruity spot. You shouldn't stop from making it because you don't have hours to let it stand.
