Mulled Wine is a warm beverage made from red wine, spices, and fruit, prepared in winter and the cold season. During the Christmas holidays, it is customary to find it in markets accompanied by roasted chestnuts, chestnut cake, and sabadoni.
This delightful warm drink is prepared in Central Europe, and its French-origin name means “burnt wine” and is also known as Mulled Wine or vin chaud.
To prepare a good mulled wine, you need excellent red wine. Avoid cheap and poor-quality wines. I assure you that it’s not necessary to spend a lot; a good bottle of Sangiovese, a Cabernet, or an aromatic and full-bodied red wine from your region will suffice. To prepare it, add sugar, spices, usually star anise, cinnamon, and cloves, and fruit, citrus peels, and, if you like, a thick-sliced apple.
The mulled wine is usually heated and flamed by lighting the wine on fire as soon as it reaches a boil, so it can be consumed even by children. It becomes a pleasant drink to enjoy in company along with traditional sweets or roasted chestnuts.
I learned to make it at local festivals I attended. Every time more wine was added, more fruit was added, a bit of sugar, and the surface was set on fire, then it was simmered on low heat all day long. If you prefer the alcoholic version, just combine everything in the saucepan and let it reduce on low heat for 10/15 minutes; the choice is yours.
Here are some recipes to try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, Christmas
Ingredients
- 750 ml red wine (Sangiovese or other full-bodied wine, equals 1 bottle)
- 4.4 oz sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 5 cloves
- orange peel (in pieces, use untreated orange)
- lemon peel (in pieces, use untreated lemon)
- 1 apple (small)
- 1 orange (for serving)
Tools
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 Peeler
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Ladle
Procedure
Wash the citrus fruits thoroughly and peel the zest into strips using a peeler. Be careful not to take the white part, as it will release bitterness during cooking; you need 3 pieces of orange and 3 of lemon.
Wash the apple, remove the core, and slice it thickly.
Cut half an orange into thick slices as well.
To prepare the mulled wine, I use 1 cinnamon stick which I break with my hands, 2 pieces of star anise, and 5 cloves, but you can vary them to your liking.
Pour the sugar into a saucepan, add the spices and wine, mix, and bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, flame the wine and wait for the fire to extinguish itself. This way, the beverage will no longer contain alcohol and can be served to children.
Add the citrus peels and apple slices and simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain it with a fine-mesh strainer and serve it in heat-resistant clear glass cups, adding a slice of orange and a slice of apple cooked in wine.
The mulled wine is ready to serve.
If you prefer the mulled wine to retain an alcoholic note, avoid flaming it or extinguish the flame before the alcohol has completely evaporated.
Tips
The mulled wine can be stored in the fridge in a tightly closed bottle for 2/3 days.
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