When I think of Christmas, I think cranberries and rosemary and spice. This is a fun play on the more traditional sangria which normally graces the table alongside tapas in summertime, and the traditional German hot holiday drink gluhwein! It can be prepared virgin or with a little bit of inhibition tamer 😉

Tips to get you started:

· Freeze some of your fruit slices in advance and use them as ice cubes instead of watering down your sangria with ice!

· Layering the fruit on the bottom before adding your sodas preserves the bubbles for when they hit the glass.

· The frosted cranberries are a nice festive touch but are completely optional. Skipping this step will save you a few minutes in party prep, and the cranberries can be added to the cocktail in the pitcher.

· Cranberry juice is a great replacement for the grape juice, I used white grape in this version to allow the fruit skins and shapes to really shine when served.

Under 21 Version

Serves: 8-10

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cans of lemon lime soda (I do not recommend the artificially sweetened versions), chilled

2 Cans club soda

1 Cup white grape juice

¼ Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Cinnamon stick

1 Navel orange, sliced thinly with rind on

1 Honeycrisp apple, skin on, cored, cut into small pieces

1 Cup fresh cranberries, washed and dried

1 large fresh rosemary sprig, washed and dried

¼ Cup sugar for frosting cranberry garnish

Cocktail swizzle sticks or toothpicks

Step one: Pour the sugar onto a small plate. Skewer your cranberries with a toothpick or cocktail swizzle stick. Spray each cranberry skewer with water and then gently roll the skewer in sugar to coat it until it looks “frosted”. Set these aside to dry until serving time.

Step two: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the grape juice, cinnamon stick and ground cloves. Heat and stir occasionally until the spices become fragrant. Remove from heat and chill.

Step three: In a large pitcher, layer sliced fruit and some cranberries. Gently roll the large rosemary sprig between your hands to release oils and place it in pitcher.

Step four: Add to the pitcher: chilled sodas and cooled spiced juice mixture which was prepared in step one and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to consume.

Step five: Serve with some of the fruit ladled into each cup. If you have put the cranberries into the drink mix, you may want to leave those out, or warn guests that eating raw cranberry may be a bit tart!

Nutrition information: Calculated as 1/10th recipe, inclusive of cranberries (if you don’t eat them, the nutrition information will be different.

Total Calories: 96

Total Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 24 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 23 g

Sugars: 22 g

Protein: 0 g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.

WHITE CHRISTMAS SANGRIA 21+ version

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 bottle pinot grigio, chilled

¼ Cup brandy

2 Cans club soda

¾ Cup white grape juice

1 Navel orange, sliced thinly with rind on

2 Honeycrisp apples, skin on, cored, sliced thinly

1 Cup fresh cranberries, washed and dried

1 large fresh rosemary sprigs, washed and dried

¼ Cup sugar

¼ Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Cinnamon stick

Cocktail swizzle sticks or toothpicks

Step one: Pour the sugar onto a small plate. Skewer your cranberries with a toothpick or cocktail swizzle stick. Spray each cranberry skewer with water and then gently roll the skewer in sugar to coat it until it looks “frosted”. Set these aside to dry until serving time.

Step two: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the grape juice, cinnamon stick and ground cloves. Heat and stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves and the spices become fragrant. Remove from heat and allow to chill completely.

Step three: In a large pitcher, layer sliced fruit. Gently roll the large rosemary sprig between your hands to release oils and place it in pitcher. Add the orange slices.

Step four: Add to the pitcher: wine, brandy, sodas and cooled spiced juice mixture which was prepared in step one and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to consume.

Step five: Serve with some of the fruit ladled into each cup. If you have put the cranberries into the drink mix, you may want to leave those out, or warn guests that eating raw cranberry may be a bit tart!

Nutrition information:

Total Calories: 140

Total Fat: 0 g

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Sodium: 18 mg

Total Carbohydrates: 34 g

Sugars: 14 g

Protein: 0 g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.