Spiced Mulled Wine – a winter favorite! Warm spices with a hint of orange make for a great holiday drink.
Do you have a favorite drink when the weather gets cold? A Kahlua Hot Chocolate is a great warm and cozy drink I like to help warm up on a chilly night! Normally I am a wine drinker when it comes to co*cktail time, so a mulled wine recipe is exactly what I want for a winter party.
A friend first turned me onto mulled wine probably 15 years ago. The warm spices with the bold red wine is such a warm and comforting combination. Completely different than a Red Wine Spritzer that is a cool and refreshing way to enjoy wine.
What is Mulled Wine
Mulled wine is a drink that is normally made with red wine. It is infused with spices and served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink that is usually served around Christmas time and in the cold winter months. It is great to warm in the crock pot. The spices infuse the wine, and it sits there hot and waiting for you!
How to Make Mulled Wine
You want to make sure that your spices aren’t just floating in your mulled wine, or it won’t be pleasant to drink. A cheese cloth works best to make sure this doesn’t happen. You put all the spices in the cloth, and then tie it up and let it sit in the wine. It helps infuse the flavor and you don’t bite down on a peppercorn. This mulled wine recipe uses citrus as well. You dry the oranges out in the oven, and they help give the wine a great citrus scent.
Best Wine for Mulled Wine
Mulled wine is best if you use a full bodied red wine. Something like a Syrah, Malbec or a Merlot. You do not want a light and fruity wine for this. You do not need to buy an expensive bottle, just a wine that you like the flavor of.
The dried oranges are an extra step, but they make it extra special. It will be great for any get together you have in the winter.
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2 bottles, (750 ml) zinfandel or other dry red wine
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Arrange orange slices on a wire rack. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 3 hours, or until dried.
On a double layer of cheesecloth combine peppercorns, cloves, cardamom pods, allspice, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean. Gather up the ends of the cheesecloth, and tie shut.
In a large pan combine orange slices, the spice packet, sugar, orange juice and win. Heat over medium heat to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
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Erin S
Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.
Indeed, mulled wine, or spiced wine, is served and enjoyed while hot, making it a perfect drink for the holidays. Often credited to the ancient Greeks, mulled wine has been enjoyed for over 2,000 years. With the rise and expansion of the Roman Empire across Europe, so too did the consumption of mulled wine.
The best red wine to use for mulled wine is Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha (also called Grenache). These wines are dark, fruity and full bodied, which means they can support all of the flavors we'll be adding. Look for labels that describe the wine as “jammy” or with “notes of vanilla.”
Brandy: Similar to sangria, it's also traditional to spike your mulled wine with an extra bit of liqueur. Brandy is the traditional choice, but Cointreau (or another orange liqueur) or tawny port are also delicious alternatives.
Not much. Mulled wine is warmed, not boiled. Usually with added spices. Whether in a still or in boeuf bourguignon, the higher the heat, the more alcohol is released.
Glühwein to the rescue! You wonder what the difference between Glühwein and Glogg is — good question! The way I split the difference is that Glogg, for us, is almost always a holiday drink, while Glühwein is more just a cool weather drink. Also, with Glogg I like to leave in the spices, raisins and almonds.
Just like with the best wines for sangria, the wines you choose for mulled wine don't need to be fancy (you'll be adding other ingredients to it anyway so there's no need to break the bank on an expensive bottle).
More expensive wines are sometimes more delicate, so heating them up changes the taste anyway. The best wine to use for mulled wine is something flavorful that won't break the bank. Look for bottles that are between $10-20.
Mulled wine is essentially red wine simmered with various cozy spices like cinnamon, cloves and star anise that give it a delicious, spiced flavor. You can make it with brandy or another dark liquor for an extra kick!
Especially when you realise the health properties the hot wine actually has. Science has proven that mulled wine can help with anything from preventing colds and lowering cholesterol to boosting your memory and strengthening your bones.
Cinnamon is probably the most popular spice but you could also use cloves, cardamom (lightly crush a few pods) ginger and nutmeg. Some recommend star anise but use sparingly if you don't want your mulled wine to taste of aniseed.
When you make mulled wine, the spices soften the acidity of the wine, and the result is a smooth, well-flavoured drink. You can use old wine to make this drink, and it will save you having to pop the cork on a new bottle.
I've used Pinot Noir before to success. Honestly, whatever red wine that you're stuck with and you don't want to drink, they'll work. Just don't mix varietals, like one bottle Cabernet and one bottle Pinot Noir. Sugar or honey.
Mulled Wine, sometimes referred to as Spiced Wine, refers to wine, most often of a red variety, infused with various fruits and spices then served warm. This traditional European drink is quite popular around the holidays and is synonymous with Christmas markets all around the world.
Mulled wine goes by many names—spiced wine, hot wine, glögg, glühwein, and vin chaud are a few I hear used interchangeably. As far as I know, they all essentially refer to the same drink, although the spices and booze of choice may vary depending on the region.
Mulled wine is traditionally a warm, red wine-based drink that goes hand in hand with the mischief of Christmas. It is typically served throughout December and is made of red wine, spices and citrus peel that are heated together to create a rich, indulgent winter nectar.
Mulled wine can taste a bit like regular red wine, which is the main ingredient in the concoction. But the wine's overall flavour will be transformed by the heating and mulling with spices and fruits. Only the broad flavour of the red wine remains, to which the other ingredients contribute additional flavours.
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