This Cranberry Orange Red Wine Holiday Sangria is a perfect festive drink for entertaining during the holiday season. It captures the flavors of the season and is sure to be a hit at any festive gathering. An easy recipe of a big-batch cocktail for your next Christmas party.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Christmas Cranberry Orange Red Wine Holiday Sangria is a festive and flavorful drink that combines the rich, warm tones of red wine with the tartness of cranberries and the citrusy brightness of oranges.
This large batch cocktail makes a perfect Christmas sangria recipe with red wine. The flavors are also perfect to use for Thanksgiving, the fall, and winter for an easy cocktail recipe and good sangria.
Sangria is best when made in advance and left to chill, which is perfect for a party! And it is a great way to stretch budget friendly alcohol.
Whip up a batch of red wine Christmas sangria for your holiday parties, Christmas dinner, or Christmas Eve to put everyone in the holiday spirit!
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need to make this red sangria recipe. Full quantities and more details can be found for this simple recipe in the recipe card below.
Red Wine – Use any wine that you prefer and like. I use a cabernet sauvignon as I like a dry red wine. Merlot, pinot noir, or a red blend will also work. No need to use anything expensive since we are adding so many other things to it! You need one bottle of wine per batch.
Spiced Simple Syrup – you can also use a plain simple syrup, Cranberry Simple Syrup, Orange Simple Syrup, or Cinnamon Simple Syrup. I love this spiced version because it brings warmth from a mix of spices.
Triple Sec – or other orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier
Brandy – or bourbon
Cranberry Juice – either cranberry cocktail or 100% cranberry juice will work, whatever you prefer. You can also use a flavor blend such as Cran-Apple or Cran-Raspberry as desired.
Orange Juice
Fresh Cranberries – they are beautiful as they float for a garnish, plus you can eat them!
Oranges – Fresh orange slices will bring flavor, color, and are fun to eat!
Cinnamon Sticks
Whole Cloves – I stick them into the orange slices so they do not float around and get swallowed accidentally!
Club Soda – if you want it to be sparkling. I personally like it without!
Ice
For garnishes, I like to use the orange slices, cranberries, and small pieces of cinnamon sticks. You could also add floating star anise or fresh rosemary sprigs.
Serving
I like to serve this red wine sangria in stemless wine glasses with ice. They are less likely to fall over and still look beautiful!
Serve up the holiday cocktail in a large pitcher or even a punch bowl.
Modifications and Substitutions
Triple sec can be swapped out for other orange liqueurs such as Grand Marnier.
Use any flavor of simple syrup as desired! The flavor you use will slightly alter the overall flavor of the sangria based on if you want the warm spices, citrus, or fruit flavors.
You can use a variety of different red wines. I like to use a cab, but merlot, pinot noir, or any red blend will be great. I do not recommend using anything expensive – we are adding so many things to it!
The brandy adds a great depth of flavor (we tried it both ways!) but if you are not a fan, you can easily skip it.
Want it to be a sparkling sangria? Add club soda, lemon lime soda, or even sparkling wine when serving as desired. Ginger beer or ginger ale would also be a great addition.
Fresh fruit is key to a sangria – you can also use pomegranate seeds or green apples.
FAQs
Red wine sangria is a blend of fruit juices, red wine, and pieces of fruit all mixed together.
Yes, sangria is best when it is given time for the flavors to meld together. Making sangria the night before is ideal.
If you do not want to use brandy in sangria, you could also use bourbon or just skip it altogether.
Yes. I prefer a dry red wine for sangria, but you can also use other types of red wine such as merlot, pinot noir, or a red blend.
The fruit should be added to the sangria when mixed together and let sit to chill. The fruit will seep into the wine mixture, and the wine into the fruit. You can then use the fruit as a garnish and eat it!
More Christmas Cocktails
Cranberry Orange Red Wine Holiday Sangria
Equipment
- Pitcher
- Measuring Cups
- Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 750 ml cabernet sauvignon (1 standard bottle) or other red wine as preferred, such as pinot noir, merlot, or a red blend (see note 1)
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ cup triple sec or Grand Marnier, or other orange liqueur
- ½ cup spiced simple syrup or cranberry simple syrup, or regular simple syrup (see notes 2 and 3)
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 6 cloves or large pinch dried ground cloves (see note 4)
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 oranges cut into slices
- ¼ cup brandy or bourbon, optional
- 2 cups club soda optional, if you want it sparkling!
Instructions
- In a large pitcher or container, combine all ingredients except for ice and sparkling element (if using). Stir to combine.
- Chill, covered, at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
- When ready to serve, add sparkling element (if desired) and serve over ice.
Notes
- Because we are adding so many flavors to the wine, it is best to use something cheap but also a varietal that you like. I prefer cabernet sauvignon as I like drier wines. Pinot noir or merlot are best for a fruitier and lighter base. A red blend works perfectly here as well!
- Get our recipe for Spiced Simple Syrup – you can also use a plain simple syrup, Cranberry Simple Syrup, Orange Simple Syrup, or Cinnamon Simple Syrup. I love this spiced version because it brings warmth from a mix of spices.
- Use more or less simple syrup to adjust to your preference of sweetness.
- I like to stick the cloves into the orange slices so that they are not floating freely, which would make them easy to swallow. Plus it looks so pretty!
- Sangria needs to chill for all the flavors to blend. It is best to chill overnight if possible.