Cranberry Pomegranate Holiday Sangria

As soon as I saw this vibrant sangria on Pinterest, I pinned it right to my Thanksgiving board where I stashed a bunch of recipes I planned to use this year.  Normally I'd wait until next year to post something Thanksgiving-related, but I think this would fit in quite nicely on your December holiday menu as well.

When I went to the liquor store to get the wine for this, I picked up an "Apple Cider" wine.  It tasted a bit too sweet for me on its own, but in this sangria it was perfect.  There was not a drop left by the end of the meal!

Cranberry Pomegranate Holiday Sangria
from Deep South Dish

• 1 (750 ml) bottle of red zinfandel
• 4 cups of cranberry juice
• 2 cups of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 3/4 cup of simple syrup
• 1 apple, unpeeled, cored, quartered & sliced thin
• 1 orange, halved and sliced thin
• 1 lemon, halved and sliced thin
• 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds
• San Pellegrino sparkling water

Combine all of the ingredients in an extra large storage container, taste and adjust flavors to your liking. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. Stir before serving and transfer to pitchers or pour by the glass. Use a pair of tongs to extract some of the fruit for each glass, add ice to each glass, and fill glasses, leaving about an inch of free space at the top. Top each glass off with a splash of Pellegrino and lightly stir.

Note from the source: The color for this sangria comes primarily from the juices, so you can use either red or white. Use any good wine that you prefer. I used a red zinfandel, but other good choices include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Shiraz, or Beaujolais.