Christmas Sangria

Hands up if you've started planning Christmas already. I know, we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet but here in Europe, we don't really do Thanksgiving, you know? I tried to celebrate it with My Official Treat Taster last year but he wasn't having any of it.

So when it comes to big blow-out holidays, Christmas is all I've got, so I usually start planning around oh, I don't know...September. Yeah, seriously. See these pictures of this Christmas Sangria? They were taken in October. You can't imagine the look on MOTT's face when I handed him a glass of this before we'd even had Halloween.

Buuut, when you plan a vacation for the middle to the end of November, you've got to get ready for Christmas extra early, especially when you've got a food blog to organise! Which is why I'm pushing this Christmas Sangria recipe in your face waaay too early. If you like the sound of this sangria and can't wait until December to try it, then simply change the name to Thanksgiving Sangria and no one will know the difference, right? That's super-clever thinking on my part.

Just look at all those cranberries! Although the cranberries don't really add much flavour to the sangria as they are, they add an amazing level of flavour when you squish them. They can be rather tart, though, so watch out! All the fruit rises to the top which is great if you're like me and can't stand fruit in drinks touching your mouth. If they're totally blended like in a strawberry margarita, then that's fine, but if they're mushed up at the bottom of the glass in a strawberry mojito or just floating around in chunks like this sangria, I will literally gag when they touch my lips. I don't know why, I just do.

But enough of my weirdness and back to this fabulous sangria. Instead of the traditional red wine version, this Christmas Sangria is made with sparkling white wine - everyone loves something fizzy during the holidays, right? Some apple juice, homemade vanilla vodka (or store-bought vanilla vodka if you haven't got any homemade) and fruit is added to the sparkling wine to create an amazing holiday drink, perfect for parties, around the dinner table or just because it's Friday!

📖 Recipe

Christmas Sangria

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Ingredients

• 1 bottle sparking white wine
• ½ cup apple juice
• 4 oz homemade vanilla vodka
• 1 green apple
• 1 handful cranberries

Instructions

• Chop the apple into small chunks and toss it into your jug with the cranberries.
• Pour the sparkling white wine, apple juice and vanilla vodka into the jug.
• Stir and serve, making sure you spoon some cranberries and apple into each glass.