The Ultimate Holiday Sangria is filled with citrus, pomegranate, pear and cinnamon for one irresistible cocktail! Find out my secret method to making the BEST sangria recipe! You’ll be the star of the holiday party with this easy cocktail recipe!
If Sangria is your jam then you’ll love my Festive Holiday Cranberry Sangria and my Citrus White Wine Sangria!
The Ultimate Holiday Sangria
No holiday is complete without a delicious Sangria Recipe, in my humble opinion. I made this recipe last year for a Women’s Christmas Event and y’all, I literally tripled the recipe and it was gone in 30 minutes! No joke! I had to improvise to make this baby stretch. So needless to say, everyone will love it!
With the holidays just around the corner and lots of fun parties to attend I thought I’d give you a recipe you can be proud of so let’s say cheers, clink our glasses and get started!
What is Sangria?
Sangria is an alcoholic wine drink that is originally from Spain. It is traditionally made with red wine, chopped up fruits, fresh citrus and brandy or sometimes orange juice. Some versions are made with sparkling water, ginger ale and/or sweeteners.
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Items you’ll need to make this Holiday Sangria:
- Red Wine: use a dry red wine, like a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Tempranillo. You don’t need to splurge because this wine will be infused with other flavors.
- Brandy: This is the most common liquor added to Sangria.
- Grand Marnier: I like to add grand marnier, it’s a combination of brandy and triple sec which gives it an orange flavor. Perfect for sangria.
- Agave: Adds a little bit of sweetness to the sangria, can be omitted if you like.
- Fresh Chopped Fruit: Typically you will see oranges and limes in sangria, in this recipe I used oranges, limes, fresh pear and pomegranate seeds for a holiday twist.
- Cinnamon Sticks: What’s a holiday sangria without a little cinnamon, these cinnamon sticks will give the sangria a spiced tummy warming flavor that everyone will love.
- Ginger Ale or Sparkling Water: A little bit of effervescence never hurt any one. The addition of ginger ale or sparkling water will give your sangria that edge on all the rest to make it stand out! Make sure you add this right before serving, not overnight!
What type of wine is used to make Sangria?
Cabernet Sauvignon is the bigger better wine to use with Sangria. It has notes of blackcurrent, blackberry and sometimes cocoa or coffee. If you light a lighter more fruit forward sangria I’d use Pinot Noir. Or if you really want to go for it and change it up you could use Rosé or a Sauvignon Blanc.
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How to make Holiday Sangria?
- To a large pitcher add agave nectar, Grand Marnier, Brandy, orange slices, lime slices, pear slices, pomegranate seeds and cinnamon sticks.
- Next, pour one bottle of red wine into the pitcher. Stir to combine.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. (the longer it sits the better it will taste) I highly recommend overnight for maximum flavor.
- Right before you are about to serve sangria, top it with ginger ale and give a quick stir.
- Pour over ice or serve chilled. Garnish with fresh limes and oranges.
How long do you soak fruit in Sangria?
Honestly, the longer the better. I’d say the least amount of time would be 1 to 2 hours. However, for a sangria recipe with maximum flavor I’d highly recommend soaking your fruit for 8 to 10 hours or overnight!
All the flavors get nice and cozy together when this Holiday Sangria sits overnight. You can taste all the flavors – the hint of cinnamon, the citrus, and sweetness from the pear. They truly become one! Topping it with the bubbles from ginger ale is the cherry on top!
I can’t wait to see what you guys think of this one. Honestly, it’s my best cocktail yet! Hope you enjoy! Bon Appetite my friends, or should I say Cheers!
Other Sangria Recipes you need to try:
- Strawberry Summer Sangria Recipe
- Rosé Wine with Fresh Fruit Cubes
- Frozen Raspberry Peach Sangria
- Strawberry Jalapeno White Sangria Recipe
The Ultimate Holiday Sangria
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Prep Time: 5 mins
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Cook Time: 2 hours
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Total Time: 2 hours 5 mins
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Yield: 6 servings 1x
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Category: Drinks
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Method: Fridge
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Cuisine: Spanish
Description
The Ultimate Holiday Sangria is filled with citrus, pomegranate, pear and cinnamon for one irresistible cocktail! Find out my secret method to making the BEST sangria.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1/4 cup grand marnier
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1 orange, halved and then sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 1 pear, sliced
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- 1 bottle of dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
- 3/4 cup ginger ale
Instructions
- To a large pitcher add agave nectar, grand marnier, brandy, orange, lime, pear, pomegranate seeds, cinnamon sticks. Stir to combine.
- Pour in the entire bottle of red wine.
- Cover and place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. (the longer it sits the better it will taste)
- Right before you are about to serve add the ginger ale to the sangria mixture.
- Pour over ice or serve chilled.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 278
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 13 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: best sangria recipe, winter sangria, holiday sangria, red sangria recipe, homemade sangria, how to make sangria, how to make red sangria, easy sangria
More Holiday Cocktail Recipes:
Easy White Christmas Margarita Pitcher Recipe
Harvest Apple Bourbon Cocktail in a Pitcher
Festive Holiday Pomegranate Gin Cocktail
I want to make a bigger batch of this recipe for an event. Any suggestions?
Hey Lynn, just double or triple the recipe it will still turn out the same. It’s what I’ve done. I just the ginger ale at the end.
This looks awesome! Love all your sangria glasses-do you know where they are from?
I believe these are from sur la table 🙂
I plan on trying either this recipe, the cranberry sangria recipe or the pomegranate mimosas for a holiday dinner party this Friday. I know some of the posts are older but I love all 3 glasses!! Any idea where you got them?
Thanks a bunch!
I got them at sur la table, it’s their staple brand so they still should be there
Can you let the fruit wine mixture sit overnight before serving?
YES!
yes, absolutely! It’s actually better that way!
Great recipe for the holidays.
★★★★
Thanks Bobbi!
Have you tried this exact recipe with a white wine as well? It sounds divine!
I have not, but you know what it would probably be just as good! 🙂 All the flavors would work with white wine.
We are red fans in our house too. This is my type of sangria since I don’t have to wait for the flavors to blend…I don’t have any patience for that.
haha… true but it tastes so much better when it does blend! YUMMY!
Although my true obsession lies with beer (obvi), I can never turn down a good sangria…and I prefer red wine sangrias too! This sangria just looks like Christmas, and I’m obsessed with it! Pinned!
I should have named this Christmas in a Cup…. hehe. 🙂
What a festive drink! I’m no mixologist either, but I know what I like–and I think I would love this drink! Can’t wait to try this season!
Amen to that Michelle… we might not be mixologist but we can always drink up! 🙂
Hello, happy hour! Love the wintery spin on this
haha… Thanks Maris!
This looks so good! I need to sneak some into my in-laws house inside a coffee mug or something this Thanksgiving. There super… I dunno… but anyway, this could definitely save Thanksgiving for me!
★★★★★
bahahaha… thats awesome!!!! I like you even more now Rachel!
Not only is this sangria gorgeous, Krista, it looks like the perfect thing to sip while preparing Thanksgiving dinner!
Oh thanks so much melanie! You are too sweet!
These pictures are so divine!!! This looks wonderful, right up my alley!!
★★★★★
haha.. hurray! Becky approved!!! 🙂
When we lived in Cali we got such an education about wine that now people say we are snobs. Maybe just a little….. But I can tell you that I could drink the whole pitcher of this!
haha… I know right! People say the same thing about me and I know NOTHING about wine or at least thats what I think. 🙂 If you like wine then you will LOVE this!
I can’t wait to try this for my Holiday gathering!
Hurray Jackie! You’re going to love it!
You photographed this so well I could almost taste it. I love me some sangria. THANKS fro sharing:)
Ohh.. thanks so much Laina!