“Fall” in Love with Sangria

I am so excited to share my very first blog post with  those who are reading. I wanted to keep the first one as simple and sweet as this delicious Fall style sangria my friend Taylor and I found on Pinterest a couple of years ago. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and any other parties you attend during the Fall season, this perfect blend of flavors leave your taste buds  truly feeling the Fall spirit!

Random history fact! Sangria is originally from Spain and Portuguese decent, however it dates all the way back to Romanian period. In this era, water was constantly contaminated so the Romans used wine to “sanitize” their water and added extra herbs and fruits to make it into more of a juice! As I know from reading books from this era, they did dilute their wine so this makes complete sense and I’m surprised that more Sangria producers don’t implement this into their marketing efforts for the brands!

I throw an annual Hocus Pocus night at my house every year so last year when I was looking for ideas, my girlfriend Taylor and I stumbled upon this concoction which perfectly fits the theme of basically anything October. It’s also a a great choice for a party where a lot of women are attending since it is sweet so it’s more of a girly drink.  PLUS you can make it in bulk and fast if you need to re-fill your pitchers, and if you have girlfriends and family who know how to drink like mine, then this is very convenient!

Now to the fun stuff! This Caramel Apple Sangria is made with a mixture of Caramel Vodka (not be confused with apple vodka), Apple Cider, White Wine, and of course, sliced apples. I have yet to find another Carmel Vodka other than Smirnoff but I have been told that Pinnacle also has had one in the past.

Being an east coast girl, I was raised near an apple farm so I grew up with the luxury of having a cider mill close to me, however I have yet to find a cider mill in Orange County (I believe Julian or Moreno Valley is the closest), so my go-to is Trader Joes Apple Cider. If any of you do know of a great place that makes fresh cider, please comment below!

I am going to be upfront regarding my wine preferences now…I am NOT a Chardonnay drinker, so I will most likely never suggest using that white wine as an ingredient. With that being said, I suggest Sauvignon Blanc for the sweeter side, or Pinot Grigio for the drier the side. We used Pinot Grigio for this party as I like cocktails that are not as sweet, especially when you already have a sweet base  such as apple cider. Also, if you want to make the Sangria less strong, you can use more wine and cider vs. vodka!

To complete your Sangria, make sure you buy various types of apples and cut them to soak in Sangria before serving. I used Fiji, Honeycrips, and Galas to give variety and add extra flavor. Once you mixed the recipe ingredients below, make sure you soak the fruit for at last 1 hour, 2 hours if you have the time! If this was red sangria, you could soak at room temperature, but since this is a white sangria, lets go ahead and refrigerate so it stays cold before guests come over. You also have the option of keeping at room temperature and pouring over ice.

I am so excited to hear the outcome when you try this at an event! Thank you for reading and stay Full of Sips!

Recipe:

Serves about 8 drinks

3 Apples

5 cups of Apple Cider

1 Cup of Caramel Apple Vodka

1 Bottle of Pinot Grigio

*Refrigerate for 1-2 hours