Fall Sangria Recipe

This easy fall sangria recipe is one of my favorites. It’s seasonal, comforting, and easy to make. I used to think there were just a couple of ways to make a sangria recipe, then a yummy pizza spot near our apartment in Los Angeles opened my eyes to the world of possibility with sangrias.

They only had a license for beer and wine, so they got creative with wine to make a nightly red wine sangria and a white wine sangria. It seems so simple and commonplace now, but 10+ years ago, it was a bit of a new phenomena. I made a slew of sangria recipes, including raspberry sangria and cherry sangria! I’ve also done ones with watermelon, a brunch sangria, and even a pomegranate one for Christmas time. I told you my world was opened up!

Fall Sangria Recipe

You won’t be surprised to see that I have ground cinnamon in my fall sangria recipe. Is it even a fall recipe if it doesn’t have cinnamon? I’m thinking no! hah. It also has the delicious fall flavors of apple cider or apple juice. And then it all comes together with a sparkling white wine and a bit of rum for that depth every good sangria has.

Is Sangria a Fall Drink

I mean. I live by the adage – you do you, so obviously my answer is yes. Even technically speaking, however, a sangria is a mixture of fresh fruit and wine (and usually a spirit). Then the fruit and wine need to marinate and marry together. This fall sangria recipe checks all those boxes. We’re just using seasonal fruits (apple, pear, and cranberry), fall flavors, and we’re sipping it in fall (and winter)! We’re good to go

How to Make a Fall Sangria

Use a Large Enough Pitcher

The last thing you want is for all your ingredients not to fit, so you need a large pitcher. The liquid ingredients in the recipe come to about 6 cups. Then you’re going to add chopped fresh pear, cranberries, and cinnamon sticks. So that’s 7 cups minimum (and you’ll want little space at the top). If your pitcher is a ½ gallon, you’ll be totally fine.

Allow Time for the Sangria to Marry

The thing about sangrias, is they need time to chill and rest. It’s obvious why you’d want it chilled (though maybe not over ice this cooler time of year – totally up to you). The resting period allows the flavors to fully mix. The wine, juice, and rum infuse the fruit and the fruit adds a brightness to the sangria itself.

The cinnamon sticks are as much for accoutrement as flavor, but the ground spice is there for the cinnamon flavor! And the cranberries are really there for color, but I am here for every single one of them!

Use Room Temp apple juice/cider

While you’d think you want everything chilled, having room temperature apple juice (or apple cider is good too) and rum will help the sugar and cinnamon dissolve and distribute a bit faster. They’ll mix into cold liquid too, it just takes a little longer. There’s no simple syrup in this recipe, but this step is acting like it.

Easy Fall Sangria Recipe Variations

I’m the first person to modify a recipe – just being real as always. There are a few ways to modify the recipe without much work. I’ve already mentioned apple cider rather than apple juice – it has a much fuller flavor, which I always enjoy.

I use a sparkling white wine, but you could use a white wine like a pinot grigio. You could also probably use a red wine, but I’d recommend something lighter like a pinot noir or even a Lambrusco, so the subtle fall flavors come through more.

You could substitute maple syrup for the teaspoon of sugar for a fun, seasonal sweetness. Honey would be fine too, but it doesn’t mix in as easily as maple syrup.

And a yummy idea I’ve been wanting to try is ginger ale (or probably ginger beer) in place of the club soda. I haven’t done that yet, so I’m not sure if it would be sweeter than I normally like, but it’d probably be delicious.

Best Sangria Recipe For Fall

Ingredients

• apple juice/cider
• rum
• granulated sugar
• ground cinnamon
• green pear(or half each of a red and green pear)
• cinnamon sticks
• fresh cranberries
• club soda
• sparkling white wine

Instructions

• Step One: Combine apple juice and rum in your large pitcher. Whisk in sugar and cinnamon until dissolved into and distributed throughout the liquid.
• Step Two: Add pear slices, cranberries and cinnamon sticks to pitcher. Add the club soda and then the sparkling wine. Stir gently being careful not to break up the pears.
• Step Three: Chill well, stir and serve.

Fall Drink Recipes

There are a number of recipes that are perfect for fall – mocktails and cocktails alike. As I mentioned above, my Christmas sangria is this pomegranate lambrusco sangria – a great option all season long. If you’re looking for something spirit-forward, try this Irish Whiskey cocktail or this apple cider cocktail (with bourbon)! If you like vodka, try this fall vodka cocktail with fresh figs (or easily swap out for another fruit).

Looking for something non-alcoholic? Pomegranate lemonade is one of our favorites and this ginger beer mocktail is all the fancy without the alcohol!