Mulled Wine – 5 Recipes for a Winter Warmer

Here in Poland, the most famous is Galician mulled wine, a ready-to-drink spiced wine that only needs heating, and comes in several flavour compositions: traditional mulled wine with spices, mulled wine with honey, and even non-alcoholic mulled wine.

1. What Wine for Mulled Wine?

Let's get down to brass tacks. Which wine should you choose for mulled wine? The most recommended are red wines, preferably semi-dry or semi-sweet. Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chilean wines work perfectly. You can also prepare mulled wine with white wine, though it's less common and requires specific spices to ensure the wine is flavourful and aromatic after heating.

2. Spices for Mulled Wine

Another integral element of mulled wine is the spices. The most important are the warming, aromatic spices, including: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, star anise, and cloves. But don't forget a vanilla pod, which lends a pleasant sweetness, as well as pepper and allspice, which introduce a touch of piquant flavour to the mulled wine.

3. Important Additions

Additional ingredients that dictate the taste of your mulled wine are also important. An ingredient found in almost every mulled wine recipe is slices of fresh, preferably sweet, orange, which perfectly cut through the bitterness of the spiced wine. Other additions can include raspberry syrup, apples, lemon, cranberries, raisins, or dried plums. And of course, we can't forget sugar, preferably brown, or honey, which are great for sweetening your mulled wine, especially if you're making it with a semi-dry wine.

Once prepared, mulled wine is served in... well, what exactly? What vessels are best for serving mulled wine? The ideal choice is large mugs for mulled wine made of ceramic, stoneware, or clay, as these materials retain the drink's warmth for a long time. It's worth choosing mulled wine mugs with a barrel-shaped design that fit perfectly in your hand, allowing you to warm them up too.

A mulled wine mug isn't the only option for serving this aromatic beverage. Beer glasses also work perfectly. They effectively showcase the beautiful colour of the mulled wine, as well as the aromatic spices and delicious additions. Now that you know which ingredients are essential for mulled wine and what to serve it in, it's high time you discovered our favourite and tried-and-tested mulled wine recipes.

What's better than a warming cup on a winter's day, when it's frosty and snowy outside? Mulled wine with apples and aromatic spices, whose scent will waft through every room in your home while it simmers away.

Ingredients:

• 1 litre semi-sweet red wine
• 50 ml rum
• 2 apples
• 3 cardamom pods
• 3 star anise
• 10 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 tablespoons honey

Method:

1. Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes.
2. Pour the mulled wine into a saucepan, add the rum, chopped apples, and honey. From your spice jar, take out the cardamom, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon, and add them to the saucepan. Heat the mixture over a low flame, stirring occasionally. Heat the wine thoroughly, but be careful not to let it boil. It should be heated to a maximum of 80 degrees Celsius; otherwise, it will lose its flavour and aroma.
3. Pour the finished mulled wine into Moomin mugs.

The perfect complement to a chilly evening spent in your favourite armchair under a fluffy blanket with a good book or TV series will be a mug of mulled wine with orange and fresh cranberries. The secret to this recipe is to first prepare a syrup, which allows the sugar to dissolve more easily and thoroughly, and the mulled wine spice blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom becomes even more aromatic and pronounced.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml semi-dry red wine
• 2 small oranges
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 8 cloves
• 4 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 cardamom pods

Method:

1. First, prepare the orange syrup. Thoroughly scrub the oranges, peel off the skin, and squeeze out the juice.
2. Cut out the bitter white pith from the peel, then place the peel along with the orange juice in a saucepan. Add the sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, simmer for 3 minutes, then add the cranberries and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. The sugar should dissolve completely, and the syrup should thicken. Set the syrup aside for about 15 minutes to cool slightly.
3. Pour the wine into the syrup, along with the remaining orange, chopped into smaller pieces. Heat the entire mixture over the lowest flame. The wine needs to be very hot, but not boiling.
4. Pour the steaming drink into wine glasses along with the orange pieces, cranberries, and spices.

When it's cold, frosty, and snowy outside, prepare an aromatic mulled wine with raspberry syrup that will envelop you with its unique, spiced flavour and warm you up after a long, hard day.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml semi-sweet red wine
• 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons raspberry syrup
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 8 cloves
• 4 slices peeled ginger
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick

Method:

1. Wash the orange thoroughly and slice it.
2. Pour the wine into a saucepan, add the orange slices, raspberry syrup, honey, and spices. Heat the mixture over a low flame, stirring occasionally. Do not bring to a boil.
3. Pour the hot drink into mugs or glasses.

Non-alcoholic mulled wine? Is that even possible? Absolutely! All you need to do is combine the ingredients correctly to create a delicious, aromatic, and warming drink that everyone will enjoy, even those who aren't keen on alcohol. We suggest a non-alcoholic mulled wine based on cherry juice with orange and a generous amount of spices. This drink will put a smile on anyone's face and warm them up nicely. Plus, non-alcoholic mulled wine smells amazing, but tastes even better.

Ingredients:

• 500 ml cherry juice
• 1 orange
• 10 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar

Method:

1. Thoroughly scrub the orange and cut it into slices. Set a few pieces aside – they'll be used for decorating the mug.
2. Place the remaining orange slices, all the spices, and sugar into a saucepan, then pour in the cherry juice.
3. Heat the mixture over a low flame for 15 minutes. Be careful not to let it boil.
4. Pour the finished drink into mugs. Decorate with the reserved orange slices.

Looking for a foolproof mulled wine recipe that will impress everyone with its unique flavour? Discover our recipe for incredibly aromatic mulled wine with orange, raisins, and almonds. It's an exquisite drink that will make every chilly day more enjoyable.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml semi-sweet red wine
• 1 orange
• 4 tablespoons raisins
• 2 tablespoons almond flakes
• 10 cloves
• 4 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks

Method:

1. Scrub the orange and slice it.
2. Pour the wine into a saucepan, add the orange slices, almond flakes, raisins, and spices. Set the mixture aside for at least 1 hour.
3. Heat the wine with the additions quite strongly, but do not bring to a boil.
4. Pour the mulled wine into beer glasses or mugs.

The mulled wine season is officially open! A good bottle of red wine, mulled wine spices, a few extra bits, and the right serving vessels are all it takes to warm yourself up, lift your spirits, and simply revel in the taste of an aromatic drink during frosty, winter evenings.