Getting Festive: SANGRIA MULLED WINE

There is nothing I love more than an OVERLY festive holiday moment.

Picture this: cinnamon, pine filled candles burning, Frank Sinatra holiday soundtrack blaring on the speakers, homemade potpourri…& MULLED WINE.

Firstly, as you know I just got back from London. I almost died when we walked through the Winter Wonderland themed park & there was a MULLED WINE stand. Like just sitting there in the middle of the park. Warm, delicious mulled wine with cinnamon sticks & orange zest. So ideal when you’re freezing your ass off in a beanie & scarf, craving a little buzz.

Thankfully I convinced Michael to wait in line to get us two.

Anyway, when we came home, I had an IDEA: SANGRIA mulled wine. Kind of a twist on a traditional staple. Just how we like it around here.

This recipe will also take you like two seconds. It smells delicious & will really make you the life of the party. Very winter-appropriate too.

CINNAMON SANGRIA MULLED WINE:

1 bottle of red Eppa Sangria ( or two if you’re feeling frisky )
1 orange
½ lemon
1 cup of apple cider
Handful of cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
A dash of nutmeg

+ directions: mix sangria, cider, ½ orange ( juiced ), a squeeze of lemon, cinnamon sticks, cloves in a saucepan. Bring the medley to a boil & let it kind of simmer on lowest heat for 5 minutes. Pour into festive mugs. Have orange slices and zest ready to go & rub them against the rim of mugs. Add a cinnamon stick. Sometimes I’ll even squeeze a whole lemon slice in there too ( the lemon rind is SO good for you! Antioxidants while you booze ).

Speaking of antioxidants, this organic sangria mulled magic is FILLED WITH THEM. In fact, Eppa Sangria has nearly 2x the antioxidants as wine…just add that lemon rind & I feel like you’ve got your daily dose, no? A cupful of superfruits.  An inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon can also be an alternative choice in your red wine sangrias.

And voilà, the whole holiday party will absolutely love, love, love you! SKIP the boring upside down cake & bring this instead.

I prefer to serve this with tiny Meyer lemon sugar cookies. Trust me, it really hits the spot.

If you’re more visual, here ya go:

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Oh BTW, don’t throw away your orange peel.  You can dry those and store them in an air-tight container.  If you have a dehydrator, the orange peels can be dried at 140 degrees Fahrenheit from 20 minutes to an hour or until the peels are dry and crispy.  It can be used as marinades, infusions, tea, mulling spices, and homemade potpourri.

On another note I’m already missing London. Who’s been? The whole city is so different & special. Especially during the holidays. Everywhere we went there was twinkle lights & holiday-inspired activities.  Very magical. I guess it’s almost New York City on steroids?

Ok I am off to pack…but of course, I left all packing to the last minute- would you expect anything less? Running around like a real psycho over here.

Hope you’re having a perfect week! Sending love to the beautiful, inspiring TSC Community! Happy holidays.

Cheers guys, lauryn x

+ taupe wrap top is from my friends, Sara & Hanna’s clothing brand. I’m obsessed! & small bone necklace is Belladaar. 

++ this post is in collaboration with Eppa. As always all opinions are my own.

{ photos | video }