Christmas Citrus Sangria

Sangria seems to be everyone’s favorite cocktail and because it can be made by the pitcher, it’s one of my go-to party drinks. This season, I’ve updated my favorite sangria recipe by swapping summer berries for pear and apple and added a bit of spice with cinnamon infused syrup.

Like most sangrias, this recipe can be made a day ahead and actually tastes better the longer it’s chilled. Because who wants to spend the entire day cooking on Christmas? The fresh fruit adds such a refreshing flavor to the drink and the cinnamon syrup add a little bit of a kick.

Christmas Citrus Sangria
Servings 6-8 glasses

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup Natalie’s Orange Juice
• 2 tablespoons Natalie’s  Pure Lime Juice
• 2 tablespoons Natalie’s Pure Lemon Juice
• 1 bottle of red wine, any kind you like
• 12 oz. ginger ale (my favorite is Boylan)
• 1 orange, cut into small wedges
• 1 Red Bartlett pear, sliced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, sliced

Supplies:

• 6” wooden skewers
• Glitter foam holiday balls, can be found in the seasonal section of craft stores
• Hot glue gun

Directions:

1. Pierce a glitter foam ball with the flat end of a skewer. Remove the ball and place a very small amount of hot glue on the end of the skewer. Place the glitter foam ball back on the skewer and hold for a few seconds until the glue hardens. Repeat the the other skewers.
2. Heat sugar and water in small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and place cinnamon sticks in the syrup. Allow it to steep for 5-10 minutes.
3. Pour orange, lemon and lime juice in a large pitcher. Add bottle of red white and stir to combine.
4. Remove cinnamon sticks from syrup and add 1/4 cup of the pitcher and stir. Add orange wedges, pear and apple slices to the pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
5. Just before serving, add ginger ale to the pitcher and stir. Thread a piece of orange, apple, and pear onto each skewer and serve the sangria in cups over ice.

Note: If you prefer your sangria a little less sweet, swap the ginger ale for club soda.

Looking for more holiday ideas? Check out my Christmas page.

This recipe was originally created for Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that help me make delicious recipes like this one.