studentsineurope

Great Cocktails of Europe: Mulled Wine

It is called as Glühwein in Germany and Austria. Glögg in the Scandinavian countries. In France, it is referred to as vin chaud. And you and I know it as simply mulled wine. It’s hard to say who first came up with this delightful winter warmer, but almost every European country has some version of the spicy red wine cocktail.

Mulled wine consists of a red wine base that is spiced and warmed, then served with a cinnamon stick. The spices used for mulling red wine include cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, sugar and fruit – usually citrus such as orange and lemon. In my version, I add a bit of lemon zest (peel) to the mix,  some star anise for a bit of licorice pop, and a bay leaf. Historically, wine would eventually go off, and by adding sugar and spices, it could be drinkable again. This reasoning leads me to believe that it doesn’t matter what type of wine you use for mulling, so I always just buy the cheapest bottle I can see.

Mulled wine is most often served around the holidays, especially at the famous European Christmas markets, where it helps keep people warm as they peruse the Christmas trinkets and enjoy the sparkling winter lights on a freezing December evening.

But as we hit the January blues and winter seems like it might never end, a steaming cup of mulled wine might be just the ticket to warming our cares away.

Megan’s Mulled Wine Recipe
Ingredients:

1 750 ml bottle dry red wine
30 ml brandy
1 ½ cup water

½ lemon, not peeled, sliced into squares
1 plum, halved
1 mandarin orange cut into slices (regular orange can be substituted)
1 length of orange peel
2-3 tsp cinnamon powder
2-3 tsp brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 star anise seed
1 bay leaf
12 whole cloves
1 package cinnamon sticks or candy canes

Recipe:
Warm wine, water, and brandy over low heat. Add fruit, orange peel, and seasonings, to the warmed mix. Let simmer for 10 minuets, remove lemon squares. Add sugar. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Be very careful NOT to let it boil, or it will ruin the quality of the wine. Add more sugar/cinnamon to taste.

You can serve directly from the pot, or strain and refrigerate overnight.

Serve warm, garnished with cinnamon stick or candy cane.