Despite having a relatively high sugar content, cranberry juice cocktail and pomegranate juice both have a bold, tangy flavor. As such, the punch itself is quite tart. I enjoy this flavor; to my tastes it has a hint of sweetness but is rather bracing, refreshing, and very easy to drink! If you don't enjoy tart beverages quite as much and want to mellow the flavor out a bit, you can use a sweet sparkling wine (such as demi-sec or doux). If you are making the non-alcoholic version, use all sparkling cider, rather than sparkling flavored water; this will sweeten the punch quite a bit. You can also replace the cranberry juice cocktail with a cranberry juice blend, which still has the flavor of cranberries, but with a less tart finish.