Mulled Wine

Ingredients

1 bottle (750 ml) of red wine of your choice

2-4 cinnamon sticks

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

6-10 whole cloves

2-4 star anise

2-4 cardamom pods, slightly crushed (optional)

1/8 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 slice of fresh ginger (optional)

A pinch of fresh ground black pepper (optional)

1 vanilla bean, sliced in half (optional)

1/4 cup brandy or cognac

2-4 tablespoons of honey, maple syrup, brown sugar or molasses (or a combination of two or more of these)

1 orange, sliced (optional- remove the rind to prevent the wine from getting too bitter)

Additional orange slices and cinnamon sticks to garnish, optional

Instructions

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Pour the red wine into a large saucepan or pot over medium heat.

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Add the spices, sweetener and orange slices. Stir to combine.

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Slowly heat the mixture, ensuring it doesn’t come to a boil. Keep it at a simmer for at least 30 minutes, all the way up to 3 hours, allowing the flavors to meld together. Keep the pot partially covered and be sure to give it a stir every once in a while and avoid letting the wine start to boil or bubble in any way so as to not have the alcohol vaporize.

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Strain the mulled wine to remove the spices and orange slices, then add the mulled wine back into the pot to keep it warm.

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At this point, taste the wine and feel free to add more sweetener if desired. If you like a stronger drink, you can also add additional brandy. If you’d like to add in dried fruit, this is the time to do that, as well. Just add in the dried fruit and let everything simmer for a few minutes so that the fruit can soak up the flavors of the wine.

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To serve, ladle the wine into mugs or heatproof glasses and garnish with a cinnamon stick or a slice of orange, if desired.

Notes

SERVING NOTES

This is perfect for holiday festivities and parties. Not only does it smell great, but it serves a lot of people, it's easy to throw together and it doesn't require much effort or maintenance, it can easily be doubled or tripled for larger gatherings and can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a slow cooker. It also goes great with appetizers, nuts, cheeses and charcuterie as well as cookies for cookie decorating gatherings and popcorn for those holiday movie nights.

BEST WINES TO USE FOR THIS MULLED WINE RECIPE

ZINFANDEL

MERLOT

GRENACHE

PINOR NOIR

SHIRAZ

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS

FOR THE DRIED FRUIT- Feel free to use any kind you like, cranberries, apples, apricots, etc. They’re all delicious, albeit non-traditional, options.

FOR THE COGNAC AND BRANDY- You can omit the brandy and cognac entirely if your prefer.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR SPICES

Feel free to experiment with different spices based on your personal preferences. Add a pinch of chili flakes for a little heat or molasses for a bit of extra warmth and spiced sweetness.

MIX AND MATCH SWEETENERS

I love using a mix of sweeteners, so instead of doing just brown sugar, I'll do half maple syrup and half molasses. Feel free to experiment and mix and match to find a sweetener combo that you like, or keep it easy and just use one. A spiced or citrus honey is also great to throw in the mix if you have it, otherwise plain honey will do the trick.

BE SURE NOTE TO OVERHEAT THE WINE

While it’s important to warm the wine, avoid boiling it. High heat can cause the alcohol to evaporate and the flavors to become bitter.

HOW TO AVOID BITTER MULLED WINE

Part of avoiding a bitter mulled wine is dependent on the varietal of wine you use. But if you’re still worried about it being too bitter, remove the rinds from the orange slices before adding them to the wine. You can also add the orange slices later in the mulling price, leaving the slices in only for a few minutes. Lastly, you can add more sweetener/sugar.

CAN THIS RECIPE BE DOUBLED OR TRIPLED?

This recipe can be doubled or tripled for larger gatherings and can be made ahead of time and kept warm in a slow cooker.

CAN THE WINE BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes, mulled wine can be made in advance and kept warm for hours in a slow cooker or on the stove. However, if you are making it ahead of time to serve at another point, be sure to strain out and discard the spices, then store it either in the pan you made it in, with a lid on, or in an airtight container (I like to use mason jars) in the refrigerator until you’re ready to enjoy. Then simply start re-heating it over low heat, either on the stove or in a crockpot, about an hour before you're ready to serve it. It may get a little thicker and the flavors may get too concentrated as it sits in the fridge, but you can simply add a little more red wine when you heat it up.

WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER MULLED WINE

Leftovers can be stored directly in the pot. Just place the lid on and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days. This also makes it super easy to reheat. However, you do want to make sure you strain the wine and discard the mulling spices first.

You can also transfer it to a jar or container with an airtight lid, then transfer it back to a pan and reheat it on the stove when you’re ready for me (this is a great option if you only want to reheat a small amount at a time).