Mulled Wine
Mulled Wine, a comforting and heavenly drink made from sweetened red wine, infused with spices and fruit and served warm. To our family, this drink is synonymous with snow, skiing, sunshine, Christmas (in fact the whole winter!) and, fingers crossed this year, the Swiss Alps.
Sufficient for 2 bottles of wine
Ingredients
For more information about Mulled Wine, please see http://www.daffodilkitchen.com/mulled-wine/
For the spice bag mix. (This is enough for 2 bottles of wine.)
- 1 medium sized orange
- ½ medium lemon
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon whole cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice berries
- 15g chopped crystallised ginger
- muslin squares and string
To make the mulled wine you will need –
- 60g caster sugar, or you can use honey or maple syrup
- 300ml water
- 1 sachet of spice mix
- 700ml/1 bottle of red wine (See Recipe Notes)
Serving suggestions –
- slices of fresh orange and/or lemon
- cinnamon stick
- star anise
- raisins
- almonds
Instructions
Spice Bags:
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Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.
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Preheat the oven to Fan Oven 90°C/110°C/230°F/Gas ½.
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First you need to dry the orange and lemon slices – cut the orange and lemon into slices, roughly ¾ cm thick.
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Lay on racks on baking trays and cook in a very cool oven for a few hours until dried through. The length of time it takes will depend on how thick you cut the slices – it can take up to 6 hours. Turn the slices over a couple of times whilst they cook.
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Roughly chop the dried orange and lemon slices, transfer to a food processor. Blitz until finely chopped.
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Lay the cinnamon, allspice and cloves on a chopping board and cover with cling film. Bash with a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin to break up the spices.
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Carefully remove the cling film, removing any spices that have stuck to it.
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Transfer to the food processor and blitz until everything is finely chopped. Tip out of the processor into a mixing bowl.
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Finely chop the ginger and mix with the remaining spices and fruit. You can do this by hand or in the food processor but, pulse very carefully, or it will become thick and sticky.
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Transfer half of this mix, roughly 30g, into the centre of a muslin square big enough to encase the spice mix and tie tightly with string.
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Your spice bags are now ready to use. If you are not using them immediately, I add a layer of cellophane and tie this tightly around the muslin. This helps keep the spices fresh but it is important to remove the cellophane before making the mulled wine.
Make the Mulled Wine:
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Heat the water and sugar together, over a moderate heat, until the sugar has dissolved.
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Add the spice bag, cover with a lid, and simmer for 20 minutes on a very low heat – this can be done ahead of time.
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Add the wine – bring to a very gentle simmer over a moderate to low heat. Do not boil. If you want to keep it warm for a prolonged period of time, transfer it now to a slow cooker set on a low heat.
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Serve in heat proof glasses with your choice of serving options. If you want to add any extra punch e.g. brandy or eau de vie, pour this directly into the serving glass with the hot wine.
Recipe Notes
Equipment:
For the spice mix -
- baking trays
- racks
- chopping board, knife, meat tenderiser
- food processor
- muslin squares and string
- cellophane, if necessary
For the Mulled Wine -
- saucepan
- slow cooker if necessary
- chopping board and knife (for the garnishes)
- heat proof glasses
Make it punchy!
If you like, you can even add a shot of cognac, brandy, rum or an eau de vie (fruit brandy) such as Poire Williams. David Lebovitz suggests a ginger eau de vie, and in Switzerland, they often serve Vin Chaud with Vieille Prune, a plum eau de vie – it can be very punchy!
Spicy Hot Cider
You can also use this spice mix to make Spicy Hot Cider – a slightly lighter, fruitier drink which also packs a wonderful, warming flavour punch. One bag is sufficient for 1 litre of cider. You do not need to add any water or sugar, simply heat the spice bag in the cider until aromatic.
What is the best wine to use?
Mulled wine is typically made with a fruity red. Inexpensive wine is perfect for this recipe; heating the wine dulls the flavour, plus you are introducing a whole new range of flavours which will dominate any nuances in the wine.
What is the best way top keep Mulled Wine warm?
If you are making this for a party and want to keep it warm for a long period of time, without spoiling the flavour and cooking off the alcohol, keep it in a slow cooker. Infuse the spices in the sugar syrup on the hob, add the wine, heat through and then transfer to the slow cooker.