• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

What Molly Made

Eat to Feel Good

  • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Snacks
    • Side Dishes
    • Drinks
    • Special Diet
    • Holiday
    • Cooking Method
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • PCOS
    • PCOS Recipes
    • PCOS Tips + Resources
    • Clean Living
    • FREE PCOS Email Course
  • Cookbook
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Special Diet
  • PCOS
  • Appetizers
  • Snacks
  • Holiday
  • Cookbook
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes

    Spiced Winter Sangria

    Updated: June 20, 2022 | Published on: February 3, 2022 - Molly ThompsonLeave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe

    This spiced winter sangria features red wine mixed with fresh apples, oranges, and warm winter spices like cinnamon and cloves to help you celebrate any winter occasion.

    winter sangria in a wine glass with cinnamon sticks and rosemary
    Jump to:
    • What is winter sangria?
    • Ingredient Notes
    • How to make winter sangria
    • Prefer to Watch Instead of Read?
    • Winter Sangria: FAQs
    • More Sangria and Wine Recipes
    • Recipe

    What is winter sangria?

    Winter sangria is a variation of the traditional sangria cocktail made with wine, fresh fruit, juices and other aromatics.  Winter sangria takes the base of the classic and adds fruits that are in season during the winter like citrus, apples, pears and pomegranates. 

    We always love to have a festive drink to sip on at a holiday party and this makes an especially good Christmas sangria! Even after the holidays pass it's great for girls' night or football games.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Red wine: we love a dry Spanish wine for sangria! See the FAQs below or the ingredients notes in the recipe card for specific varieties.
    • Apple brandy: you can find this at any local grocery store, but if you have regular brandy on hand that works too!
    • Grand Marnier: this adds more alcohol and orange flavor to the sangria, but any other orange liqueur, like a Triple Sec, is a good option.
    • Agave syrup: I love to use this because it's a refined sugar free sweetener. You can swap this for honey or maple syrup.
    • Fresh orange juice: you need 1 cup total, which was about 3 large oranges for us.
    • Winter fruit: We're using a mix of pears, apples, oranges and pomegranate seeds. A few other winter fruits you could add include cranberries, tangerines or blood oranges. 
    • Warm spices: whole cinnamon sticks, star anise and whole cloves.
    • Fresh rosemary: not only does this add a beautiful aroma, but it's also gorgeous to use as a garnish.
    • Ginger Ale: top each glass with bubbly ginger ale or sparkling water before serving.
    ingredients for winter sangria recipe

    How to make winter sangria

    1. Slice all of the fruit and add it to a pitcher with the cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise. Pour the fresh orange juice, Grand Marnier and apple brandy on top of the fruit.
    winter sangria fruit in a pitcher with rosemary and cinnamon sticks
    add fruit and spices
    winter sangria fruit with grand marnier and brandy in a pitcher
    pour grand marnier and brandy on top
    1. Open the bottle of wine and pour it over the fruit then stir well to combine and chill it in the fridge for 1-2 hours. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have, but don’t let it sit longer than 24 hours.

    red winter sangria in a pitcher
    add red wine
    stirring winter sangria in a pitcher
    stir to combine
    1. If you’re making a sugar rim, add all of the ingredients to a shallow plate and mix well.  Rim each glass with an orange to wet the sides then dip it in the spice mixture.
    2. When you’re ready to serve, fill the rimmed glasses with ice and pour the sangria in 3/4 of the way full. Top with ginger ale or soda water and garnish with soaked fruit, extra cinnamon sticks or rosemary.
    dipping a glass cup in a cinnamon sugar rim for winter sangria

    Prefer to Watch Instead of Read?

    Winter Sangria: FAQs

    What type of red wine is good for sangria?

    Our favorite red wine for sangria is a semi-dry Spanish red wine. The best options are a Garnacha or Tempranillo because it's somewhat fruity and is low in tannins (bitterness). You can find this type of wine at any grocery store and it's usually in the $10 range. You could also use a cabernet sauvignon or merlot if that's what you prefer. Check out this great post for other red wine options.

    Should sangria be cold or warm?

    Sangria can be served hot or cold! I prefer it chilled the majority of the time, but you can also serve it warm in mugs. Mix everything together in a crock pot and warm for an hour.

    How far in advance should you make sangria?

    The best time range to soak fruit in sangria is between 2-24 hours. The closer to a day in advance the sangria chills in the fridge, the better it will be. I don't recommend going over 24 hours because the fruits can bread down too much and taste bitter.

    What fruit is good in sangria?

    You can't really go wrong with any fruit in a sangria recipe, but my favorite is fruit that is in season.
    For summer: strawberries, peaches and other stone fruits are great.
    For winter: apples and citrus like oranges are delicious. That's why we're using those two in this winter sangria recipe!

    winter sangria in a wine glass with ice, cinnamon sticks and oranges

    If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!

    More Sangria and Wine Recipes

    • Spiced Apple Cider Sangria
    • Cranberry Apple Sangria
    • Mulled Wine

    Recipe

    a glass of winter sangria with fresh rosemary and cinnamon sticks

    Winter Sangria

    This red winter sangria is a festive addition to any meal. It's mixed with apple, oranges, cinnamon and brandy for a citrus-spiced flavor to help you celebrate the season.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Drink
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Chill Time:: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
    Servings: 4 glasses
    Calories: 172kcal
    Author: Molly Thompson
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    For the sangria:

    • 1 bottle semi-dry spanish red wine*
    • 1/2 cup apple brandy
    • 1/3 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liquor
    • 2 tablespoons agave
    • 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 3 oranges)
    • 1 apples cored and sliced
    • 2 pears sliced
    • 1 orange, sliced with the peel
    • 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
    • 6-7 cinnamon sticks
    • 1-2 whole star anise
    • 2 sprigs rosemary plus more to garnish
    • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
    • Ginger Ale or soda water to top

    For a chai sugar rim:

    • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 1/4 teaspoon EACH: cardamom, nutmeg, allspice and ground cloves

    For a cinnamon sugar rim:

    • 1/3 cup coconut sugar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

    Instructions

    • Place all of the ingredients, except for the soda water or ginger ale, in a large pitcher and stir to combine.
    • Store in the fridge for 1-2 hours. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have, but don’t let it sit longer than 24 hours.
    • If you’re making a sugar rim, add all of the ingredients to a shallow plate and mix well. Rim each glass with an orange to wet the sides then dip it in the spice mixture.
    • When you’re ready to serve, fill the rimmed glasses with ice and pour the sangria in 3/4 of the way full. Top with ginger ale or soda water and garnish with soaked fruit, extra cinnamon sticks or rosemary.

    Notes

    What red wine to use: no need to break the bank here. The best option is a Garnacha or Tempranillo because it's somewhat fruity and is low in tannins (bitterness). You can find this type of wine at any grocery store and it's usually in the $10 range. Check out this great post for other red wine options. 
    How to make warm winter sangria: Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 1 hour. Do not go over or the fruit and orange rinds will start to taste bitter. When the hour is up, turn the heat to “warm” and serve with fresh fruit and cinnamon sticks.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1mug | Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.3g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 23mg | Sugar: 20.1g
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!
    « Salmon Pesto Pasta (30 Minutes)
    Chocolate Covered Raspberries (Tru Fru Copycat) »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    molly thomspon from what molly made in the kitchen with her cookbook

    I'm Molly! I'm so grateful you're here. My hope is that my recipes bless your home and your bodies. I want my website to be a tool to help you feel your best and nourish you with recipes you (and your family) look forward to making!

    More about me →

    Recipe Key:

    Dairy FreeDF
    Gluten-FreeGF
    Low CarbLC
    PaleoP
    Refined Sugar FreeSF
    VeganVg
    VegetarianV
    Whole30W

    Popular Recipes

    • Banana Oatmeal Pancakes [Gluten Free | Blender]
    • Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
    • Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
    • One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta [Dairy Free]

    Pre-Order My Cookbook!

    the cover of the anti inflammatory diet made simple cookbook

    Amazon | Barnes&Noble

    Learn more about the book here →

    Footer

    Stay Connected

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Copyright © 2022 · Privacy Policy