Serve Apple Cider Sangria at your gatherings this holiday season. Made with white wine, brandy, apple cider, ginger beer and spices, this pitcher
DISCLAIMER
*This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Feast + West may receive commissions for purchases made through those links — at no cost to you. All opinions are our own. Please read our full disclosure for more information.
About this Apple Cider Sangria recipe
Sangria is the ultimate party
But enjoying sangria doesn’t have to stop when summer ends.This wine cocktail works just as beautifully with cozy apple cider, warm spices, white wine and sweet brandy. Add in some fresh honeycrisp apple slices and you’ve got yourself a fall cocktail fit for a holiday party or tailgate.
You are going to fall in love with this white wine sangria that is fit for apple season. (Pun absolutely intended — sorry!)
More apple cocktails: Appletini • Caramel Apple Mimosas • Apple Pie Old-Fashioned Cocktail
Why you’ll love this recipe
Sangria is a delicious pitcher
- Sangria is an easy big-batch cocktail you can serve at a party. It’s easily multipliable for bigger guest lists, too!
- Full of warmth and flavor, this beautiful pitcher
drink is perfect for fall gatherings. - You can customize it with your favorite wine, type of apples and accompanying alcohol to get a flavor you love.
This delicious apple cider sangria is perfect for any fall gathering, from girls’ night to a wedding shower to Thanksgiving dinner.
Ingredients
This apple sangria only needs a few simple ingredients. Feel free to multiply the recipe if you need to serve more than 4-6 people.
- white wine: You can use any type of crisp white wine in this recipe.
- apple cider: Any store-bought apple cider will work in this recipe. Bonus points if you get fresh apple cider from the farmer’s market or from a local apple orchard! Most grocery stores sell apple cider in the fall, but you are also free to make your own.
- brandy: Added alcohol gives sangria more flavor and a stronger punch. Brandy is sweet and pairs well with tart apples, but bourbon or rum work as well.
- orange liqueur: Another common addition to sangria, orange liqueur lends a tart, tangy citrus flavor to combat the sweetness. Triple sec, curaçao, or a top-shelf orange liqueur like Grand Marnier or Cointreau will work beautifully. For a lighter
drink , use orange juice. - ginger beer: Every glass of sangria should get a splash of something bubbly. This helps to give it a bright effervescence but also helps you stretch the recipe to serve more people. Spicy ginger beer provides a big kick of flavor, but ginger ale, lemon-lime soda or club soda can work instead.
- fruit, herbs & spices: Fresh apples bring their signature bright, crisp flavor into the mix, not to mention texture if you like to munch on the mulled fruit! I also added cinnamon sticks and rosemary, but the great thing about sangria is you can customize it with whatever you’ve got!
Best white wine for sangria
Sangria has fruit, liqueur and a sweetener added, so a dry or semi-dry white wine — like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio — usually helps to balance the sweetness.
When you add apple cider into the mix, which is usually sweet on its own, it’s even more so. If you prefer a sweeter
Best liqueurs for sangria
Sangria usually has some added alcohol to give the wine cocktail more flavor and a stronger punch. Brandy is sweet and pairs well with tart apples. You can even pick up a bottle of apple brandy for a stronger apple flavor, but I don’t think it’s needed. There are a few substitutions you can try instead:
- bourbon
- cinnamon whiskey
- applejack
- spiced rum
- dark rum or white rum
- vodka or apple vodka
Mix-ins for Apple Cider Sangria
Sangria is so easy because you can add just about whatever is in your fridge. For this apple cider version, I went with fresh apples and spices.
Apples: Fresh apples bring their signature bright, crisp flavor into the mix, not to mention texture if you like to munch on the mulled fruit! Feel free to use diced pieces or thin slices depending on how you want the final sangria to look.
You can use either red or green apples in this sangria, or a mix of both for a festive red-and-green combo. For red apples, go for crisp ones like Fuji, Gala or Honey Crisp apples. For green, the Granny Smith variety is ultra-tart and perfect for this cocktail.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email a link to you, so you can come back to it later! Plus you'll get great new recipes each week!
Other fruits: If you want to add more fall fruits to the sangria, here are a few ideas:
- pear slices
- pomegranate seeds
- orange slices
- fresh cranberries
- sliced plums
Spices: Whole cinnamon sticks give this sangria an apple pie flavor. The longer the spices rest in the liquid mixture, the more spiced flavor they will infuse.
Ignore the urge to substitute ground spices! Use ground spices instead as a last resort: They will give the sangria a slightly gritty texture. It’s better to add a cinnamon sugar rim.
Garnishes
For garnishes, you can add star anise and cinnamon sticks. You can buy star anise at specialty shops or online.
If you like, you can add a rim of cinnamon sugar to your
To rim the glass, dip the rim in honey or maple syrup or use a lime wedge to moisten the rim. Then roll the edge of the glass in the cinnamon sugar. (I have a whole tutorial on how to rim glasses if you want to check out some different methods and looks!)
Substitutions
Sangria is an easy recipe to tweak. If you can’t find an ingredient or need to adjust, here are some ideas:
No apple cider? If you can’t find apple cider, feel free to use apple juice instead. My favorite brand is Martinelli’s, or you could juice your own apples with an apple juicer.
Sweeter sangria: If you like your sangria sweeter, use a sweet white wine such as Riesling or Moscato. You can also add ¼ cup of maple syrup into the mix to add some sweetness.
Variations
Mix things up to make this fall sangria your own. Here are a few ideas:
- Caramel apple sangria: Use caramel vodka instead of brandy for a delicious candy flavor.
- Bourbon apple cider sangria: Use bourbon instead of brandy. This will add a deeper, robust and woodsy flavor to your sangria.
- Green apple sangria: Use a bright and crisp wine like Chardonnay and skip the red apples. A splash of lemon juice will help to amp up the tartness.
How to make Apple Cider Sangria
Making sangria with apple cider is super easy! You don’t need any fancy bartending skills, I promise. First, get out a large pitcher or a punch bowl *. You’ll need it for serving your sangria.
- Take a minute to slice or dice your apples. It’s up to you what shape you want to use. Then, add the apple slices and cinnamon sticks to the pitcher.
- Fill it with wine, apple cider, brandy and orange liqueur. Stir to combine.
- Before serving, rim wine glasses with cinnamon sugar. Totally optional!
- Then add ice to each glass. Pour in sangria about ¾-full, and top with ginger beer. (If you prefer, you can stir all the ginger beer into the pitcher instead of doing it glass by glass.)
- Garnish each glass with a cinnamon stick, a piece of star anise and a sprig of rosemary for a gorgeous finish.
favorite pitchers
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → *
FAQ
Sangria is a wine cocktail from Spain. It usually contains wine, fresh fruit and some other types of spirits, such as vodka, rum or brandy and orange liqueur. It can be made with white, rosé or red wine and just about any fruit you can think of. The flavors of the fruit soak into the wine mixture, giving each glass a distinct fruity flavor.
Absolutely! Apple cider sangria is a great make-ahead drink. Combine the fruit, herbs, spices and liquids — except the carbonated ginger beer — in a pitcher and stash it in the fridge until you’re ready to serve, up to about 24 hours for the freshest flavor. You can cut the apples ahead of time, too, but douse them with fresh lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
Leave a comment or tap the ★★★★★ below to leave a rating — it helps others and supports our work. We love hearing how it turned out!
Apple Cider Sangria
ingredients
- 2 red apples sliced or diced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 750 milliliters white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, chilled
- 2 cups apple cider
- ½ cup brandy bourbon or dark rum
- ¼ cup orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau
- 24 ounces ginger beer
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar for rim
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 12 whole cinnamon sticks for garnish
- 12 pieces star anise for garnish
- 12 sprigs fresh rosemary for garnish
instructions
- Add the apples and cinnamon sticks to a 2-quart pitcher. Fill it with white wine, apple cider, brandy and orange liqueur. Refrigerate for an hour to let flavors meld together.
- Rim glasses with maple syrup, making sure there is no excess to drip, then roll the edges in cinnamon sugar.
- Add ice to the glasses, then fill with sangria almost to the top. Add 2 ounces ginger beer to each glass (or add all of it to the pitcher before serving).
- Garnish with whole cinnamon sticks, star anise and sprigs of rosemary.
notes
Save this recipe for later
We’ll email a link to you, so you can come back to it later! Plus you’ll get great new recipes each week!
recommended products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
nutrition information
amount per serving:
More apple cider cocktails
- Apple Cider Mimosas
- Spiced Apple Cider Rum Punch
- Apple Cider Moscow Mule
- Apple Cider Shandies
- Bourbon Apple Cider Jello Shots
Leave a Reply