Glühwein, Gluehwein, Christmas (or Winter) wine: in its essence, this hot spiced wine recipe is a warm hug on a cold day – and there are as many versions of it as people who try to make it.
Truth is, when a chilly day shows up (especially in Wintertime), you’re likely to crave a little pick-me-up drink that will ease the inner cold.
In our version, we prefer to boil the wine slightly, making the overall alcohol content drop; since we’ll be adding sugar, we find it already gives the mix a nice, warm, boost (without the need to be boozy).
Give this one a go, and let us know what you think!
ingredients (for 4 people)
- citrus fruits of choice (we usually go with orange, lime and lemon)
- freshly squeezed orange or clementine juice (optional)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 6 to 8 whole cloves
- whole nutmeg, for grating
- 100 g sugar
- 2 bottles of red wine
method
- Peel large sections of your citrus fruits (just the colored section, without going deep into the white section of the fruit).
- In a large saucepan, add peel pieces and juice (if using any).
- Add in cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and 8 to 10 gratings of nutmeg. Incorporate half the amount of sugar, then stir in the red wine.
- Let this mixture simmer until sugar is dissolved; then bring it to a boil and let it stay that way for about 5 minutes.
- Before turning off the heat, taste the mulled wine and add the remainder of sugar bit by bit, to your liking.
- Serve in heatproof glasses (or mugs) and enjoy!
tips / good to know
- the wine you pick makes a (big) difference:
- pick a wine you’d be able to serve with food, as this will impact the quality of your mulled wine.
- amount of liquid:
- since we bring the mix to a slight boil, both alcohol and part of the water will evaporate, so you’ll end up with a smaller quantity than you might expect.
- if you want to keep some of the alcohol in, you can also:
- add only half of the wine in step 3, and the remaining liquid after step 4, giving it 5 minutes for flavours to (re)blend on low heat before serving;
- you can also spike your mulled wine with an extra bit of liqueur – such as rum, brandy, cointreau, or even tawny port.
- (not so) sweet tooth:
- we tend to go easy on the amount of sugar we use, not only to get a better sense of all flavours, but also because it’s easier to add extra sugar (if needed).
