Pumpkin Infused Sangria

While seeking ideas for grown-up (i.e. alcoholic) beverages to serve at this season’s dinners and parties, I came across an impressive array of autumn-inspired sangria recipes on Pinterest. I’ve always enjoyed a nice sangria in the summertime, but never considered it as something you’d serve in fall.

One look at this Thanksgiving Sangria recipe from The Chic Site, however, and I was dead-set on trying out the idea. All my favorite fruits of fall soaked in cabernet, apple cider, and mulled spices in the slow-cooker, then served hot with cinnamon sticks? Pour me a mug (or two!)

Since I was testing the recipe on Halloween, I decided to add my own twist—which included briefly soaking the sangria in a freshly carved pumpkin. The result? A pumpkin infused sangria that bewitched our trick-or-treaters’ adult companions and instantly became my new go-to cocktail for fall entertaining.

Ingredients

• 2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon*
• 3 cups of apple cider
• 4 organic apples (a mix of red, yellow, or green)
• 1 organic green pear
• 1 organic orange
• Lots of cinnamon sticks (two cans at least)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 freshly carved organic pumpkin

You’ll also want to have cheesecloth, kitchen twine, and a slow-cooker on hand to make this recipe.

Directions

1. Carve the pumpkin, scraping out all seeds, gunk, and strings.
2. Wash and cut the apples, orange, and pear into large chunks.
3. Place fruit into your carved pumpkin.
4. Add apple cider and wine. Stir.
5. Transfer fruit and liquid mixture carefully from the pumpkin to your slow-cooker. (A ladle will come in handy for this step.)
6. On several layers of cheesecloth, add spices and a few cinnamon sticks.
7. Using kitchen twine, tie up the cheesecloth into a spice bag and place in the slow-cooker.
8. Cover and cook on high for two hours, then switch to low.
9. Serve each cup with a cinnamon stick.

* This post features wine selections from Marc Mondavi’s The Divining Rod collection, created to honor the ancient art of water divining and the unique power of your own intuition. The folks at The Divining Rod were kind enough to send me some complimentary bottles to try, and I included their Cabernet Sauvignon in my pumpkin infused sangria. It was, indeed, quite divine.

More fall sangrias to try

Here are a few more sangria recipes that piqued my interest on Pinterest. I hope to add these to my fall rotation!

• Cranberry Sangria from What’s Gaby Cooking
• Caramel Apple Sangria from A Night Owl Blog
• Pumpkin, Cinnamon & Apple Spiced Sangria from Free People Blog
• Poison Apple Pomegranate Sangria from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Honeycrisp Apple Sangria from Sally’s Baking Addiction
• Fall Sangria from Sweet & Savory by Shinee