1. Chop the apples. Chop the apples into pieces small enough to take with a sip, around a quarter of an inch cube. Or much larger if you don't want fruit that can escape the glass when you drink.
2. Slice the orange. Slice the orange in half, then place the cut sides down and slice each half into thin half-moons. Slice the halves in half again into tiny triangles, if you like. Save a few slices for garnishing the glasses.
3. Peel and slice the ginger. To prepare fresh ginger, peel the thin skin off with the edge of a small spoon. You can also use a vegetable peeler, but I find a spoon easier given ginger's funky footprint. Then slice the peeled root into thin slices. For a stronger ginger flavor, you can grate the ginger with a microplane grater. But use half as much if you do this.
4. Mix and age the sangria. Add the ginger root, cut apples, orange slices, wine, orange liqueur, and whole spices to a pitcher. Mix it well, especially if you added simple syrup or granulated sugar.
5. Chill for four hours. Chill the sangria for at least four hours to let the flavors marry. Sangria mixed the night before serving is even more delicious and nuanced.
6. Serve chilled. Serve sangria chilled, especially white wine sangria. Garnish with slices of apple or orange, or both. To create a garnish with the apples that sit on the rim of a glass, slice the apple somewhat thin, then carve a tiny triangle out of the middle of the straight side.

To Make Simple Syrup

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small pot and bring it just to a boil. Stir to be sure all the sugar dissolves in the water.
2. If you like, add a few whole spices like cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the boiled syrup.
3. Once cool, store any leftover simple syrup chilled for up to a few weeks.