Mulling wine was historically a way of making bad wine drinkable again, by heating it up with a handful of spices, sugar and herbs until it becomes fragrant and sweet. Mulled Wine is synonymous with Christmas both managing to capture all the familiar smells we love, and providing us with a satisfying warm drink for those cold winters nights.
This recipe uses a few herbs as well as the traditional spices, which I feel add something a little extra without loosing the nostalgia. It’s also worth pointing out that you need to avoid overheating the wine - which would make the alcohol evaporate and change the taste.
I’d suggest drinking this in the same way I do - snuggled up with your loved ones watching a festive film such as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (cheesy but oh so festive!).
This article also forms part of Kalyn’s “Holiday Cooking With Herbs” event.
Mulled Wine Recipe - Ingredients
- 1 Bottle Red Wine
- 65g Sugar
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- Pinch of Grated Nutmeg
- 1/2 Orange
- 1 Tsp Cloves
- 1 Sprig Rosemary
- 1 Dry Bayleaf
Mulled Wine Recipe - Method
- Place wine and all ingredients into a saucepan over a low heat
- Continue slowly heating until very hot but not bubbling (it should be smelling very nice by now!)
- Pour out into mugs and drink while still hot.
Enjoy!
Jeanne
Y
Lil
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
peabody
Katie
Coffee and Vanilla
We Are Never Full
Kalyn
mycookinghut
December 21st, 2006 at 12:07 am
I’ve never had the opportunity to try mulled wine. Never even heard it before I married into a Swedish family. I look forward to making it soon. I can feel it warming me up already.
December 21st, 2006 at 12:17 am
I think this sounds very good. I bet the rosemary is a very nice touch with the other flavors.
December 21st, 2006 at 9:01 am
I will definitely be making mulled wine this weekend and your recipe looks great to me. One tip I picked up at Borough Market was to add to sweet white wine with the red and reduce the sugar, thereby substituting some fructose for some sucrose. I also think some lemon would give a tart edge to offset the sweetness. It will be my first time, so I’ll experiment and post a note to say how it went.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:27 am
This sounds warm and cozy. I think it just got added to my list, thanks! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to You and Yours!
December 21st, 2006 at 1:42 pm
I’d not heard of mulled wine. Sounds interesting.
Merry Christmas and a Happy 2007!
December 21st, 2006 at 4:43 pm
I always feel like I should be sitting in a ski lodge when I have mulled wine. It is yummy.
December 25th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Mulled wine is a must at christmas and i got some ready spices from Sweden, just to heat up with the wine. Nice!
Like the recipe but i’ve never heard of bayleaves or rosemary in mulled wine.. interesting.I’ll try that sometime
Merry Christmas and happy new year!!
December 27th, 2006 at 12:14 am
Shannon: I’d not tried it myself till about 5 years ago…
Kalyn: It adds a certain something extra without detracting from the “christmasyness” of it.
Aidan Brooks: Excellent tip. I’ve made it before using lemon but never thought about it quite so scientifically!
Michelle: Have a great Christmas to you, too!
Vani: Happy Christmas and a great new year!
Peabody: I’d be scared to death of breaking a leg while skiing. The ski lodge sounds nice, though.
Linda @ Brazilian Food Love: It’s one of those things you can experiment with quite a lot. Merry Christmas and a fab New Year to you, too!
December 27th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Scott, best wishes of a Great 2007!
December 28th, 2006 at 1:45 am
mulled wine is the best thing on a cold wintry day… ahhhhhh…
December 28th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Hey Scott,
Just wanted to wish you Happy Holiday and wonderful New 2007.
Hope we will have another round of EBBP it was great fun.
Wishing you a year of good cooking, great writing, a year of success and peace.
Wishing to read more of your blog.
Cheers
Gitit