Autumn Apple Sangria

Ingredients:

• 4 lemons
• 1 cup of sugar
• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 bottle (750 ml) Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
• 1 cup apple brandy, such as Calvados
• 1 cup non-alcoholic apple cider
• 1 cup of sparkling water
• 1 tart green apple, such as Granny Smith, cored and cut into quarters or thinly sliced ​​crosswise
• 1 sweet red apple, such as Gala, cored and cut into quarters or thinly sliced ​​crosswise

Preparation:

1. Thinly slice 1 lemon, remove the seeds, place in a bowl, and set aside. Juice the remaining 3 lemons until you have 0.5 cups of juice left (discard the remaining juice).
2. In a small saucepan, combine the lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Cook the syrup for another minute. Let it cool completely, then strain into a 3-liter pitcher, setting aside the cinnamon sticks.
3. Add the wine, Calvados, cider, and sparkling water to the pitcher and stir. Add the tart and sweet apples and lemon slices and cover the pitcher with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the sangria to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. For servingFill 8 glasses halfway with ice, then pour in the sangria and add fruit to each glass. Garnish each serving with a cinnamon stick.