Your New Favorite Fall Sangria.

This sparkling fall sangria is here just in time for the cooler weather.  It’s a step up from your typical fresh fruit sangrias, because the pears and apples are roasted.  It offers a warm, comforting note to the sangria, and it’s so delicious.

When we lived in North Carolina, we were about an hour south of Raleigh.  Raleigh is home to a lot of great bars and restaurants, and is home to Ashley Christensen, who won the James Beard award for Outstanding Chef in the U.S. in 2019.  Her amazing diner, Poole’s, was truly one of our favorite places to eat when we were in Raleigh.  It’s just the epitome of absolute comfort food, and I LOVED it.  She wrote a cookbook based on the recipes from Poole’s, and included a Baked Apple Sangria in the book.  The recipe is awesome, but I wanted to create my own version of a baked fruit sangria.

What is Sangria?

Sangria is really just a form of punch that originated in Spain.  It should consist of wine, fruit, and whatever other fun ingredients you feel like tossing into it.  Because it is a Spanish concept, the fruits usually vary by what is in season in Spain.  Clearly other cultures have adapted this concept, and transformed sangria to fit their own seasonal fruits and flavors. 

Sangria can be made with red wine or white wine, and it’s totally up to you to decide your preference!  There is no right or wrong way to make it, as long as there’s wine and fruit. 🙂  And there’s no wrong way to drink it, either.  Strain it, leave the fruit in, add some sparkling water (or wine), or ginger beer (like in this recipe.)  As long as you like it, that’s all that matters!

I wrote a super similar recipe for a fall sangria about three years ago, and it consistently blows up around late August through November each year.  It’s so easy and delicious, but I wanted to step it up a little for 2020 (because 2020 sure could use all the love it can get.)

So this recipe uses almost the same ingredients, but steps it up by baking the fruits with brown sugar and cinnamon sticks first.  You’re going to love it!

Ingredients for Roasted Pear & Apple Sangria:

• Two Anjou Pears
• One Fuji, Red Delicious or Honeycrisp Apple
• Light Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon Sticks
• White Wine (such as Pinot Grigio)
• Cointreau (or orange liqueur)
• Apricot Brandy (or peach or pear brandy)
• Fresh Orange
• Ginger Beer
• Time & Patience (only about three days 🙂 )

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How to make this Sangria:

1.  Chop the fruits into 1/2″ – 1″ pieces.  Toss with brown sugar.

2.  Spread the fruit onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Add the cinnamon sticks, and bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes.

3.  Transfer fruits, cinnamon sticks, and any baked brown sugar to a large pitcher.  Pour in wine, Cointreau, and apricot brandy (or whatever liqueurs you are using!)

4.  Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap or a tightly fitted lid, and refrigerate for three days.

5.  After three days, squeeze in the fresh orange juice and stir to combine. 

6.  Strain the sangria through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pitcher for serving.

7.  Fill cocktail glasses with ice.  Pour in sangria until 3/4 full, then top with ginger beer.  Serve with an orange peel for garnish, and enjoy!

Tips for making the Best Sangria:

1. Use seasonal fruit.  Fruit that is in season will have a sweeter, juicier, more “fruit like” flavor.  The wine in the sangria will absorb the fruit flavors, so the more delicious the fruit – the more delicious the sangria.
2. Don’t use a fancy wine.  Save the good wine to enjoy on its own.  For sangria, an inexpensive bottle is perfect.  (Usually $5-10).  You can also use box wine, as long as you like to drink it on it’s own and don’t just use it for cooking. 🙂 Yes, the quality of wine isn’t crucial, but you don’t want to use really gross wine, because obviously that will just make really gross sangria.  You know how you use cheap bubbles for mimosas?  Kind of the same concept.
3. Don’t use really old wine.  By this, I mean don’t use white wine that has been sitting in your refrigerator or on your wine shelf for years.  The white wine we want for this particular recipe should be young and fresh.  A pinot grigio is perfect for this, because it’s light, refreshing, and relatively subtle with flavor.  I recommend using a pinot grigio that is no more than three years old for your sangria!  
4. Also, don’t use white wine that has been open for more than 5-6 days.  White wine has a little more flexibility here, as it can keep in the refrigerator for about 5-6 days.  If you’re ever making red sangria though, red wine doesn’t last much longer than two days once it’s been open.  Sangria isn’t picky, but I would recommend using some wine that’s relatively fresh.

This white wine sangria is really good for fall brunches, or for sipping in the cool weather outside by the fire.  Whip up some jalapeño artichoke dip, pistachio-encrusted goat cheese bites, or oven-roasted tomato bruschetta to snack on, too!  Or check out some brunch recipes here if you are going that route!

If you make this roasted pear and apple sangria, I would love to see it on Instagram!  And as always, feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions or need any troubleshooting!

Cheers!

xx Sara