"I've never met a holiday drink I didn't like."
Holiday Sangria
The holidays call for festivities, fun, get togethers, and of course tasty beverages.
I will raise my hand and admit that I am not a frequent alcoholic beverage connoisseur, but I do indulge every now and then. When I do, it's usually something simple - a mule (I love ginger beer), a fruity cocktail, or a nice sangria.
What is Sangria? "A Spanish drink of red wine mixed with lemonade, fruit, and spices." Another definition is "an iced punch made with red wine, fruit juice, and usually pieces of fruit and soda water." The few versions that I have tasted included wine (red or white), fruit, a juice, and a carbonated beverage).
Since it's the holidays, and almost New Year's, I decided to try my hand at making a batch of sangria.
I was given a Harry and David gift box for Christmas that contained a bottle of Royal Crest Red. So this was perfect opportunity to use the wine for the sangria.
If you know me, you know there is basically no alcohol in my house. The alcohol that I do have is used for baking. Everclear for painting cake details, and Hennessey for infused cupcakes. As a matter of fact, I don't even own a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine. I didn't realize that until it was time to open the wine bottle. I actually had to do a Google search on "how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew" in order to get the bottle opened. Lo and behold, I was able to remove the corkscrew by screwing a long nail into the cork and pulling the nail head with a hammer. Here's the link to the article - I used Option #1.
But back to the sangria recipe.....I looked online at a few sangria recipes to get a feel for the ingredients (which I basically knew were wine, fruit, and a carbonated beverage). I went with cranberries, apples, and oranges, as they reminded me of the holidays, and the sparkling apple cider because I love a good sparkling beverage. Besides, you can never go wrong with this combination of fruit and a carbonated drink.
Holiday Sangria Ingredients
The ingredients and directions for the sangria are listed below.
Sangria Ingredients:
1 bottle of Red Wine (Your Preference)
1 cup Cranberry Juice (Ocean Spray)
1 sliced Orange
1 cup fresh cranberries (Ocean Spray)
1 - 2 cups chopped or sliced Gala Apples*
1 bottle Sparkling Apple Cider (Welch's)
Rosemary Sprigs (For garnish)
*Sidenote: I used Gala apples because I had quite a few already on hand. You can use whatever types of apples you prefer.
Directions:
Wash, pat dry, and slice one orange.
Wash and pat dry cranberries.
Wash, pat dry, and chop or slice apples.
Add entire bottle of wine to your pitcher.
Add 1 cup of cranberry juice to the pitcher.
Add orange slices, cranberries, and apples to the pitcher.
Mix all ingredients in the pitcher and chill for at least two hours.
Once ready to serve, pour beverage into wine glasses until 3/4 full and top off with sparkling apple cider.
Add rosemary sprig as garnish.
Enjoy.
Holiday Sangria and Charcuterie Board
I ended up pairing the sangria with my first charcuterie board. I was very pleased with the way they both turned out. I had a nice small plate from the charcuterie board and three glasses of the sangria (Don't judge me - it was good and I was relaxing at home).
Visit the August June's Kitchen Instagram reels page to see the making of the sangria and charcuterie board.
Try out the recipe and let me know what you think
REMEMBER TO DRINK RESPONSIBLY!!!!!