This pretty and delicious spiced cranberry Christmas cocktail is made with cranberry wine and sparkling soda. Make a pitcher of this refreshing wine spritzer to serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Cheers! The holidays call for festive drinks like this deliciously easy-to-make Cranberry Christmas Cocktail Wine Spritzer.
Talk about a party-ready drink! It’s perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktail parties. The wine sprtizer tastes amazing, uses only four ingredients, plus spices, and is ready in 5 minutes.
Wondering what to serve with it? Definitely make these pork fried wontons — hands down the best party appetizer ever! The refreshing cocktail also pairs well with these no-bake spicy firecrackers, homemade cheeseball, barbecue meatballs and wonton cup appetizers.
You can scroll to the end of this post for the full recipe and ingredient list. But you may want to keep reading for more tips on how to make the perfect cranberry wine spritzer.
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What is a wine spritzer?
A wine spritzer is a simple, yet refreshing cocktail made by combining wine and soda over ice.
This large-batch cranberry wine spritzer is perfect for holiday parties and gatherings because there’s virtually no prep time.
This spritzer cocktail can be made by the glass as well. Simply add ice to a wine glass, fill three-fourths full with wine, top with soda and desired garnishes. Cheers!
To Make Cranberry Wine Spritzer By the Pitcher, You Will Need:
- Cranberry wine – This recipe features this Cranberry wine from Pasek Cellars, If you can’t find this or another cranberry wine, you can substitute a white zinfandel, riesling or another wine. Look for something light, refreshing, and sweet with a hint of tartness. A cranberry champagne or prosecco would be amazing.
- Sparkling soda – I recommend Sparkling Pear Cardamom French Soda, which can also be found in the drinks section at World Market. The pear and cardamom round out traditional holiday flavors and work well with the cranberry. You can substitute another sparkling pear cider in the recipe.
- Whole spices – This recipe calls for whole cinnamon sticks, cloves, and cardamom pods; you can adjust the amount to your liking.
- Limes – Use fresh limes, not bottled lime juice, for this recipe. You’ll also need lime wedges or slices for garnish.
- Fresh cranberries – These are for garnish purposes only, but they’re a “must” to give this wine spritzer its festive appearance.
- Large pitcher – We used a 90-fluid ounce pitcher, but you could also use a punch bowl
- Wine opener
- Citrus juicer or strainer
Want to see a brief overview of the process before diving into the recipe? Click here to watch my web story on how to make the Cranberry Wine Spritzer Christmas Cocktail.
How to make The Cranberry Christmas Cocktail
If you plan to serve the wine spritzer immediately, add the cranberry wine and the pear cardamom soda to a large pitcher.
Next, add the cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon sticks.
Add freshly squeezed lime juice to the pitcher. Both the wine and soda are fairly sweet and the sourness of the limes balances the beverage.
Gently stir, then add more lime slices and cranberries for garnish.
To serve, fill a glass wine glass a quarter of the way with ice. Pour the spritzer over the ice. Garnish with cranberries, lime slices and spices, as desired.
Variations
- Switch up the whole spices used in this recipe. Try star anise and perhaps a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg. You can also remove any of the spices that don’t suit your palate.
- Too sweet? For a drier cranberry wine spritzer, use tonic water instead of flavored soda. Another way to add tartness: muddle a few cranberries at the bottom of your cup before filling it with ice.
- Not sweet enough? Add some granulated sugar or a drizzle of simple syrup to make it sweeter.
- Make this Christmas cocktail boozier by adding vodka to the mix. I recommend ½ to 1 ounce of vodka per glass. For a stronger cranberry kick, use cranberry vodka.
- You can also switch up the flavor of the soda. You can try other flavors of French soda, like cranberry-lime. You could also substitute ginger ale, Sprite or club soda if you have trouble finding the gourmet soda.
Tips
- Using chilled wine and soda is a very important for this cranberry wine spritzer. This Christmas cocktail is intented to be refreshing and bubbly, so it’s best served cold.
- If you do make it ahead, don’t add the soda until you’re ready to serve. This will keep the spritzer from going flat.
- For an even prettier presentation, you can turn this recipe into a cranberry pear sangria. Add more chopped fruit, pear slices and orange slices and granulated sugar. Allow to chill for a few hours in the refrigerator before serving and adding the soda.
Can I make this drink ahead of time?
Sure! If you wanted a deeper flavor from the whole spices, you can fill the pitcher with the spices, wine, and lime juice and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours and up to overnight. Mix in the soda just before serving.
More Holiday cocktail & Mocktail Recipes
Try these other holiday-approved cocktail recipes and mocktails.
If you try Cranberry Christmas Cocktail Wine Spritzer or any recipe on Atta Girl Says, please come back and share your 5-star rating in the comments below! I appreciate it, and my readers do, too!
- 750 milliliters cranberry wine, one bottle, chilled
- 400 milliliters Pear cardamom soda, 2 cups, chilled
- 8 whole green cardamom pods
- 8 whole cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- Juice of 2 ½ fresh limes plus extra lime slices for garnish, optional
- ½ – 1 cup fresh whole cranberries for garnish, optional
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Add the wine, pear cardamom soda, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon sticks to a large pitcher.
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Squeeze lime juice into the pitcher using a citrus juicer or by hand over a strainer to catch the pulp.
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Gently stir all the ingredients together. Add lime slices or wedges and cranberries for garnish as desired.
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Fill a glass a quarter of the way with ice and pour the wine spritzer over. The cranberries and lime slices should pour into the glass with the beverage, or they can be added to each glass as served.
Recipe Video
Make sure to use chilled wine and soda for this refreshing spritzer. This cocktail is meant to be served cold.
To make ahead:
Mix all ingredients, except the soda, and refrigerate. Add the soda when you’re ready to serve. This will keep the spritzer from going flat.
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