How to make Mulled Wine

This is a must repost every year around this time as few things get me in the mood for the long cold winter months like mulled wine.  Most commonly called spiced wine here in the states or gluhwein in German speaking countries it is a great addition to any winter menu or holiday party.

Mulled wine in its many forms through time was created, like vermouth, because wine went bad much faster before refrigeration and vacuum seal wine corks.  Adding spices and herbs to wine was common even well into the 20th century.  There are countless resources on the Internet and even pre packaged “mulling” spices you can buy at most grocery stores but the best ones are made at home.  I have used the recipe below for the last couple years with usually just minor changes.  I like to use brown sugar in place of cane sugar; I feel a hint of molasses makes this recipe even more iconic for the holidays.  I also use a Syrah (Shiraz) for my base wine because even though it is a dry wine, as most reds are, Syrah tends to have a touch of sweet on the palate.  Most Syrah’s are medium in tannins, medium in acidity, and have rich full aromas of dark plums and ripe fruit, perfect for mulled wine.

A note on preparation, do not boil the wine, it will oxidize!  Taste often, especially if you are deviating from the recipe.  The longer the spices sit, the stronger they will infuse into your wine which can be good or bad depending on the spice, be especially careful with cloves as they are one of the most potent.  When serving I find that using a soup warmer, crock pot or even a cleaned out coffee pot works well to keep the wine warm throughout the night.  Try a batch, let me know what you think, and enjoy!

1 bottle syrah (used a big syrah with notes of plums)

1 cup brown sugar (how come you taste so good….)

1/4 cup brandy

Zest and juice of one orange

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 whole cloves

8 whole peppercorns

8 whole allspice

3 small cinnamon sticks

1 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon honey

Pour the entire bottle of wine in a large pot with a lid.  Grind or pound cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and allspice then put into the wine.  Combine the rest of the ingredients into the wine and heat on low for thirty (30) minutes covered.  Take off of heat let cool for 10 minutes to finish infusing spices into wine.  Strain and pour wine into a container.  It is much better if you refrigerate overnight if you have the time to let the flavors infuse more but either way make sure to serve warm, it’s not so good cold?

Mexican Spiced Wine

You can spin the base recipe above, like any recipe, a number of ways.  One fun way is make a Mexican Spiced Wine substituting some of the ingredients with others for a different flavor profile.  For example I used tequila instead of brandy as the fortifier.  Agave instead of brown sugar, mostly, and adding spices like cumin.  The flavor profile is not extremely different then the above recipe but it shows that if you get creative you can come up with your own unique spiced wine.

1 bottle malbec (a big one with spiciness)

½ cup amber agave syrup

¼ cup brown sugar

1/4 cup reposado tequila

Zest and juice of one orange

Zest and juice of one lemon

Zest and juice of two medium limes

4 whole cloves

8 whole peppercorns

8 whole allspice

¼ teaspoon whole cumin

2 small cinnamon sticks

1 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Pour the entire bottle of wine in a large pot with a lid.  Grind or pound cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, allspice and cumin, then put into the wine.  Combine the rest of the ingredients into the wine and heat on low for thirty (30) minutes covered.  Take off of heat let cool for 10 minutes to finish infusing spices into wine.  Strain and pour wine into a container.  Same as above, it is much better if you refrigerate overnight if you have the time to let the flavors infuse more but either way make sure to serve warm, again, it’s not so good cold?

Article and Picture by: Mark Sexauer