Mulled Wine- the Perfect Holiday Drink
Mulled Wine Recipes
What is better after a day of skiing or playing with the kids in the snow than some mulled wine? It warms your whole body, all the way down to your toes. The scent of spice will fill your house in a pleasant way, bringing out childhood memories of holiday seasons. Have a look at a variety of recipes for this much loved drink, including how to make a non-alcoholic version.
Get picture of Mulled Wine with Cinnamon Sticks.
What is mulled wine? Simply put- it is Hot, Spicy Red Wine!
How to make mulled wine
Red wine recipes
Usually a dark, full red wine is the best, but you can use any left-over wine. There are many varieties. Some like to include stronger alcohol, others do not use oranges, still others like to let the whole orange simmer along.
There are also ready-made mulled wine for sale in the shops, although it is not difficult to make it yourself. To many, mulled wine is a symbol of the holiday season, snowy winters and relaxation.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of red wine (75cl)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 8 cloves
- 12 cardemom seeds
- 5 tsp sugar
- 1 cup vodka
- almonds and raisin for serving
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a pot and slowly heat it until the sugar has dissolved. Make sure it does not boil. Put almonds and raisin in individual cups and add the mulled wine while still hot. Serve immediately.
Serve Your Wine With Class - Perfect For a Party
Mulled wine with a touch of orange - Gluehwein in German
- 1 bottle of red wine (75cl)
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 orange
- a big slice of orange peel- without the rind
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Slowly heat all the ingredients together in a pot. When the sugar has dissolved, serve it immediately. Can be re-heated.
Mulled wine spice
Mulled wine with a twist - Hot wine
- 1 bottle of red wine (75 cl)
- 1 small orange stuck with cloves
- 1 sliced orange
- 1/2 sliced lemon
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 tbsp liqueur type Cointreau
- 4 cups of water
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a pot and heat it slowly. It should never boil, only simmer. Leave it to simmer for about 20 minutes, then it is ready to serve.
Wine is bottled poetry.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Mulled wine with licorice - Give it that special flavor
- 1 bottle of red wine (75cl)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 piece of dried ginger
- 6 cardemom seeds
- 2 licorice roots
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 big slices of bitter orange peel (avoid the white parts)
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a pot and heat it slowly. When hot, serve in indvidual cups or glasses.
Non Alcoholic Mulled Wine Recipe
For a non-alcoholic version you can simply use wine without alcohol. It could be good to leave the spice to soak in a cup of wine overnight, then simmer it. You can also use black-currant juice. Since this is already quite sweet, you might want to cut down on the sugar.
Mulling wine
To mull can mean different things. What first comes to mind might be to "Think about (a fact, proposal, or request) deeply and at length" This connects well with another definition, the preparation of holiday drinks! Some people like to leave it to simmer for quite some time, to really mull it over. They feel the spice infusion goes deeper into the wine when left for some time. (It is more difficult to keep it from boiling if left for a longer time, but if this happens and the alcohol evaporates you can always add some strong alcohol). Others think it is enough with a shorter time on the fire. Why not try both?
What do you prefer? - Mulling wine
Is mulled wine best with alcohol?
Most recipes include one or more of the following ingredients: Cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange, allspice, sugar, honey, ginger, cardemom, bay leaf, lemon, licorice, star anis.
You can read more about the different spices here -Mulled Wine Spice
Ready Made Mulled Wine - Glogg
The History of Mulled Wine
According to some sources, spiced wine was drank already by the ancient Greeks. Throughout history wine has been mulled, or heated with spice, mainly to freshen up bad or sour wine.
In Sweden the local variety, called glogg, has been popular since the 16th century, it was a favourite of King Gustav Vasa. In Germany there are even older records of gluehwein, something similar.
In Europe it is mostly popular in the Northern regions, very likely because of the weather. There are few things that can thaw you as well as mulled wine during a cold winter-day.
