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Get ready to be amazed by this delicious fall drink! This fall sangria recipe pairs sparkling apple cider with red wine, orange and cinnamon. In a word: wow.
Why we love this recipe
Wow is all we can say about this one! This fall sangria tastes as cozy as wearing a bulky sweater next to a spiced candle in front of a roaring fireplace (or whatever your cozy dream situation is!). Alex created this fall and winter apple cider sangria that’s just sweet enough, cinnamon-spiced with apples, pears and orange.
In my sister’s words: “I don’t usually like sangria. But this is the best sangria I’ve ever had.” If you’re keeping track, she’s said “best ever” about quite a few things over here (vegan pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins). But I’d have to agree with her…in all cases. Here are the secrets to our favorite fall drink recipe!
How to make a fall sangria recipe
Sangría is a traditional wine punch from Spain. A classic sangria is made with red wine and chopped fruit, and often orange juice or brandy. I studied abroad in Spain in college, and after tasting the drink there I’ve found that many American recipes for sangria make it much too sweet (basically like fruit juice!).
Here’s a fall sangria that’s closer to a true Spanish sangria in flavor! It’s robust and dark, featuring apples, pears, and orange soaked in Spanish red wine, with a little cinnamon thrown in for a kick. When serving, you can pour the cider and wine in layers to make it into a two-toned cozy fall drink. Here are the basic steps (or jump to the full recipe below):
- Thinly slice a pear, apple, and orange. Place them in a bowl and mix with a sprinkle of sugar.
- Add to a pitcher and pour in a bottle of red wine. Allow to stand 1 hour for the flavors to meld.
- When ready to serve, fill each glass half-full with sparkling apple cider or regular apple cider. Top off with the red wine. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or rosemary and serve!
Best red wine for sangria
What type of red wine should you use for sangria? Any dry red wine will work for the sangria. Again, this is a more traditional Spanish sangria where dry flavors meld with fruity: you don’t want the wine to be too sweet!
If you want to be even more traditional, use a Spanish dry red wine. Our favorite is a Tempranillo from Rioja, which is what we used when we made this fall sangria. Its vibrant color and fruity tasting notes are perfect for this drink.
How to serve this sangria
The best part of a good fall sangria recipe is the garnish! In this cocktail we used a cinnamon stick, a branch of rosemary (we’re growing herbs in our garden), and an orange slice.
In terms of glasses to use for sangria, one you probably already have on hand is a wine glass. We typically use a stemless wine glass. Here we decided to serve it in these Old Fashioned glasses because we liked the look, so you can also use any type of lowball glass.
More types of sangria
There are lots more sangria recipes to try for every season! Here are some of our favorites:
- A classic red sangria is full of bold, fruity flavor, or white sangria is crisp and refreshing.
- This rose sangria is a spin with rosé wine that everyone will be talking about.
- Fruity spins like strawberry sangria and peach sangria are so much fun.
- Frozen Sangria This icy version is wine-forward and just sweet enough, with a hint of citrus.
Dietary notes
This fall sangria recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free.
Fall Sangria Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
Get ready to be amazed by the best fall drink! This Fall Sangria recipe pairs sparkling apple cider with red wine, orange and cinnamon. In a word: wow.
Ingredients
- 1 apple
- 1 pear
- 1/2 orange
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 750 ml bottle dry red wine, such as Rioja
- 1 750 ml bottle sparkling cider or apple cider
- Optional garnishes: Cinnamon stick, rosemary sprig, remaining orange slices
Instructions
- Thinly slice the apple, pear, and orange. Place them into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
- Transfer to a large pitcher. Allow to stand for 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld.
- After 1 hour, pour in the red wine. You can use it immediately, or chill for up to 3 hours.
- To serve, fill a glass with ice. Fill halfway with sparkling apple cider, then halfway with red wine mixture. Garnish with cinnamon stick, rosemary or orange slices. When you’ve polished off the sangria, you can snack on the sweetened fruit.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: Cocktail
Looking for winter and fall drink recipes?
Here are a few more winter and fall drink recipes:
Is the sparkling cider the non alcoholic kind?
Yes! You can also sub for standard apple cider. The sparkling just adds a nice touch of bubbles.
I’d like to take this to a party. Can I mix all the ingredients in a pretty container and then just add ice and garnish when served?
Yes, but I would bring the sparkling cider and open that when serving. If premixing, I’d just use normal (not bubbly) cider.