Cranberry White Sangria + VIDEO

This easy Christmas cranberry white sangria recipe features fresh cranberries, apples, and oranges combined with white wine and sparkling apple cider for a deliciously festive cocktail. Make a batch of crowd-pleasing cranberry sangria for your holiday gatherings and get ready to cheers the season!

This post was updated in October 2019 with more tips and instructions

Christmas season is here and with the holidays come all the festivities and indulgences.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good party and delicious eggnog, but sometimes it’s just nice to have a light and refreshing adult beverage, ya know?

I paired some seasonal fruits with some white wine and created a festive Christmas cranberry sangria that tastes oh so light and crisp.

What exactly is Sangria?

A sangria is simply wine combined with fresh fruits, like oranges and berries. There are versions found in nearly every country, and lots of different recipes for red, white, and blush wines.

When combine with a carbonated beverage like club soda or sparkling apple cider, sangria isn’t quite as strong alcohol-wise as just plain wine. However, some recipes include wine and liquor like brandy or sparkling white wine – and these will be a good bit stronger.

What is the Best White Wine to Make Sangria?

When making sangria, you want a dry white wine. I recommend a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.

Good news is when making sangria, you can use an inexpensive bottle… As you are adding lots of fruit and sparkling apple cider, the flavor of the dry white wine won’t come through too much – so don’t bother spending too much money on it!

Ideas to customize this cranberry sangria recipe:

• If you cannot find clementines, substitute with oranges! Works perfectly fine.
• Swap the apples or add pears for some more sweetness.
• Use different flavored sparkling water instead of sparkling apple cider!

Cranberries are tart when they are raw. And to be frank, the flavor doesn’t come through by simply throwing them in the sangria. They provide more of a “festive touch”.

Two things I did to give this sangria recipe a slight cranberry flavor:

1. If you have a juicer, you can juice one cup of cranberries and add an extra tablespoon of agave to the pitcher. This will not only give you a cranberry note, but it will also make your sangria a pinkish hue (a win in my book!)
2. Use cranberry La Croix in place (or with) the sparkling apple cider. It’s not only less sugar, but adds some extra cran flavor!

How to Prepare a Large Batch of Cranberry Sangria

Easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe (depending on the number of guests) and you can have a delicious mixed drink prepared versus someone playing bartender all night.

Can I Make Sangria Ahead of Time?

Absolutely sangria can be made ahead! Just do the the prep work the night before by cutting up all of the produce and placing it in the pitcher with the agave. Keep in the fridge overnight and you’ll be party-ready for the following day. Then just add the chilled white wine and the sparkling apple cider when you’re ready to serve.

Tips for Garnishing White Cranberry Sangria

Include a sprig of fresh rosemary or clementine peel for a flavorful and festive touch.

You can also do a sugar coating on the rim of the glasses to make an even sweeter holiday cocktail. 

If you tried this white Christmas sangria recipe, let a girl know in the comments below and share a photo using #mindfulavocado. I’d love to hear from you! Want to see more recipes? Let’s get social! CONNECT WITH ME on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest to see what I’m currently cooking up!

Festive cheers my friends!

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