Holiday Sangria with Cranberries
This sparkling holiday sangria with cranberries takes 15 minutes to prepare and lasts hours. It can be served cold or warm, making it a good choice for holiday parties and Thanksgiving dinner table instead of a plain glass of wine.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the sugar syrup:
- ⅓ cup sugar for syrup
- ⅓ cup water
For the sangria:
- 2 orange slices with skin + more for serving
- 2 lemon slices with skin
- 1 bottle of red wine
- ¼ cup cranberry juice
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries + more for serving
- 2 tablespoons Triple sec or orange liqueur
- Club soda or seltzer water
- Ice cubes
Instructions
Make the simple syrup:
- Combine ⅓ cup sugar with ⅓ cup of water in a small saucepan. 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.
- Cranberry syrup: optional instead of the one above. Infuse the simple syrup with some chopped cranberries added from the start. Let it all cool down before passing it through a sieve and using it.
For the sangria:
- Have a large pitcher (8 cups or more) ready.
- Add 2 orange and 2 lemon slices and some ice cubes.
- Add 1 bottle of wine, ¼ cup cranberry juice, ¼ cup orange juice and ½ cup cranberries. You can use them all whole or chop some in half. Stir a few times.
- Add about ¼ cup of simple syrup and 2 tablespoons triple sec or orange liqueur.
- Add more ice and club soda to fill the pitcher.
- Stir the sangria and check the sweetness. Add more syrup if needed.
- Serve in glasses with small half or quarter orange slices, cranberries and ice.
Notes
Though seasonal fresh cranberries are always recommended, frozen cranberries are perfect for this festive drink.
If using more fruit than suggested, don't add it from the start, as you might run out of pitcher space for the wine after you add ice.
Serving a larger crowd: use a glass dispenser. Depending on the size of the container, you'll have to double or triple the recipe. Don't fill it less than half full. I like to start with ¾ filled and add more wine, syrup and fruit as the hours pass.
