Description
You’ll love the combination of red wine, brandy, cinnamon, cider, and sweet Honeycrisp apples in this signature fall cocktail—it’s THE drink to make this season. I recommend making a pitcher ahead of time, so the flavors have time to mingle before your guests do! For a white wine version, try this apple cider autumn sangria.
Ingredients
- 3 cinnamon sticks, plus more for garnish
- 2 Honeycrisp apples, sliced in 1/4-inch slices (about 2.5 cups slices)
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- 1 (750 ml) bottle red wine (see Note)
- 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) fresh apple cider
- 1/2 cup (120ml) brandy
- 1/4 cup (60ml) orange juice (or juice from 2 medium oranges)
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) lemon juice
- club soda, to taste
Optional Cinnamon-Sugar Rim
- 3 Tablespoons (37g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Place the cinnamon sticks, apples, and orange slices in a large 2-quart pitcher. Add wine, apple cider, brandy, orange juice, and lemon juice. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 6–24 hours. Taste; if you’d like it to be sweeter, add 1–2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, honey, or agave.
- If you’d like a cinnamon-sugar rim, mix the sugar and cinnamon together and pour onto a plate. Moisten the rim of your wine glasses with water, turn the glass upside down, then coat the rim in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Pour or ladle in the sangria with fruit and add a splash of club soda (the unsweetened fizz is wonderful). Garnish with a cinnamon stick, if desired. Cheers!
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Sangria is the perfect make-ahead cocktail since it must sit for at least 6 hours. You can also make it one day in advance.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Large Pitcher | Wooden Spoon
- Red Wine to Use: The wine you use doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive—you’re adding so many other flavors to it that you won’t be able to taste the finer nuances. An affordable, light-bodied red table wine works great for sangria. A Spanish red such as tempranillo or garnacha is a classic choice, but I’ve also made this apple sangria with pinot noir, malbec, and various red blends. You simply want a red wine that’s fairly dry, light, and fruity.
- Can I Make This With White Wine? Yes, feel free to replace the red wine with a fairly dry, light, and fruity white wine. I also have a separate recipe for apple cider white sangria.
- Apple Cider: You can make your own homemade apple cider or buy an unfiltered version from the store or farm market—it will be in the refrigerator section. Do not use hard cider (alcoholic drink) or apple cider vinegar.
- Brandy to Use: An apple-flavored or ginger-flavored brandy is fantastic in this sangria. If you want to skip the brandy, you can replace with triple sec or add more apple cider.
- Ice: Feel free to add ice to your glasses of sangria. Don’t add it directly to the pitcher—this waters the sangria down.