There’s nothing better than a hot cup of mulled wine to warm up a cold winter day. Whether you are out doing Christmas shopping at markets or inside your house with your friends, mulled wine is the number one drink for the Christmas holidays.
A Brief History of Mulled Wine
Many of us have drunk mulled wine at a Christmas market stall, maybe in a Northern European country (those guys really know something about Christmas!) but possibly not many of us know the origins of this drink.
Let’s travel back to the 2nd century A.D., when the Romans had to find a way to survive the cold winter weather. As they conquered pretty much the entire Europe, the Romans brought their version of mulled wine around the continent. During the Middle Ages, mulled wine was drunk during the winter to avoid seasonal flu and it was believed to be a very healthy drink because herbs and natural ingredients were added to the wine.
The Swedish monarchy played a big part in making glögg famous. The name glögg was first mentioned in recipe books at the beginning of the 17th century but it was only during the 1890s that the drink started to be associated with Christmas. From there, mulled wine went global and variations to the Swedish recipe were invented.
Let’s Prepare the Perfect Mulled Wine
It is actually very easy to prepare a delicious mulled wine to serve to your family and friends. You basically need quite some red wine, sugar, spices, and everything nice! But wait, don’t run to the supermarket just yet to get your bottle of red wine, read through our blog to find out which wine works best for this recipe.
The best wine for mulled wine
The reason why not all red wines fit to prepare this drink is that the wine needs to be heated and because the number of spices can alter the taste of the wine. Avoid for example wines with high tannins, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah or Malbec and avoid light-bodied reds, like a very light Pinot Noir, as they will just get lost in the midst of the spices.
The best wine for mulled wine should be full-bodied red with fruity notes that will just be enhanced when boiled together with all the flavoursome spices. We would advise you to go for a bottle of Merlot from Chile, Grenache, Primitivo from the Puglia wine region or Zinfandel from the sunny California wine region. Another good option is a nice bottle of Rioja red wine, straight from the land of Tempranillo, as its natural acidity makes it perfect for a hot cup of mulled wine.
How to prepare the perfect mulled wine?
We have collected several different recipes of perfect mulled wine.
German Recipe
Prepare the zest of the orange and the juice and set those aside. Place water and sugar in a pot and boil until the sugar has dissolved. Add all of your spices, the zest and juice of the orange and simmer until it looks like a syrup. Reduce the heat and add your red wine. Let it simmer for at least 20 minutes and not more than 2 hours. Prepare your mugs and serve them to your friends.
ingredients you will need:
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 8-10 Cloves
- Half a cup of water
- 8 whole allspice
- 3-star anises
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 ts coriander seeds
- 6-8 cardamom pods
- 1 orange
- Sugar
Italian Recipe
you put the zest of an orange and a lemon in a pot together with sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, Juniper berries, and the star anise. Then add the wine and boil the mulled wine for 5 minutes, until the sugar has melted. Once the mulled wine is ready, light it up by putting a flame close to the wine. Once the flame goes off, your mulled wine is ready to be served!
Ingredients you will need:
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 100g sugar
- Zest of a lemon
- Zest of an orange
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 8 cloves
- 5 Juniper berries
- 1-star anise
- Nutmeg
Swedish Recipe
Add your chosen wine, cognac or vodka, sugar, orange zest, the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves to a pot and bring to boil. Put the raisins and the almonds inside a muslin cloth and dip them into the pot. Cover the pot, bring the wine close to boil and turn off the heat. Leave the mix covered for approximately 2 hours before serving.
Ingredients you will need:
- 1 bottle of red wine
- 50ml vodka or cognac
- 150g sugar
- Zest of an orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 50g raisins
- 50g almonds
What to Serve with Mulled Wine
Any type of mulled wine, or Glühwein, can be perfectly enjoyed alone, just as a drink in front of a fireplace, but if you are planning on having people over and serve them your version of mulled wine, we got some nice pairings for you.
If you are going for the Swedish version, any Swedish delicacy goes perfectly with glögg. Serve pickled fish and crackers, Pepparkakor (ginger biscuits that you can also find at IKEA), and of course kanelbullar, cinnamon and saffron buns.
For those of you who will choose to prepare the classic German/Austrian Glühwein, serve it with classical German pastries, Stollen, and ginger biscuits. Weißwürst or any German sausage with bread is a great option if you are having a proper dinner and not just serving mulled wine during teatime.
You’re at a Christmas market in another country and cannot find mulled wine? That’s probably because this Christmassy drink has its own name in each European country. We put together a list to help you!
Vin brulé (Italian); Glühwein (German); Glögg (Swedish); Vin chaud (French); Forralt bor (Hungarian)
