How To Make A Delicious Mug Of Mulled Wine
Have you had a delicious glass of mulled wine this year? If not, you are missing out in a big way!!
Mulled wine is a very old tradition, that dates way back to the 2nd century. It isn’t often that a recipe holds up nearly 2 thousand years, but here we are.
This delicious drink involves red wine that has been warmed on the stove, and spiced with different spices that we associate with the winter season.
It is so stinkin’ good, easy to make, and you will wonder why you haven’t been making this EVERY year!!
Here Is How You Make Mulled Wine
Get you a bottle of dry red wine. It doesn’t have to be an expensive, fancy bottle. I promise, it will taste just as good once you add all the extra goodies!
You can even use a boxed wine, if that is your thing.
Pour the wine into a pan, and heat on the stove, but — this is IMPORTANT — do NOT let the wine come to a boil. You don’t want to cook off all alcohol. You just want it to be nice and steamy.
Take the wine off the burner, and add in a couple sticks of cinnamon.
Cut up an orange, and place the slices in the pot of warm wine along with the cinnamon sticks. (You can peel the orange if you want to, before you slice it. That will cut down on the bitterness of the orange rind.)
Slice up some apples, and throw them in the wine to give it a sweet flavor.
Add a handful of fresh cranberries to give it a little bit of tart.
Stick a few star anise and whole cloves down inside the wine. If you don’t like the flavor profile of the star anise and cloves, leave them out. It’s your mulled wine, you can do what you want.
You can finish the mixture off with a hefty cup of sugar or honey. Taste the mixture, and make sure the sweetness is where you want it. You can always add a bit more sweetner.
You want to know a secret? I forgo the sugar (although it’s traditional), and add apple cider. It is so good!!
Stir it all together nice and gentle like.
You want to cover the mixture, and cook it over a low heat (do NOT boil) for at least 45 minutes, but up to 3 hours.
The longer you let the flavors hang out and combine, the better your mulled wine will be.
When you are ready to serve the wine, strain out all the goodies. Pour the wine into a pretty glass or mug, and garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange slices.
ENJOY!!
Ingredients
- 1 Bottle of Dry Red Wine
- 5 Cinnamon Sticks
- 5 Star Anise
- 1 teaspoon Whole Cloves
- 1 Cut Up Apples
- 1 Cut Up Orange
- Handful of Fresh Cranberries
- 1 Cup Sugar or Honey
Instructions
- Heat the wine until it is nice and steamy, but NOT boiling.
- Take the wine off the burner, and add in all the ingredients.
- Stir gently.
- Return to burner, cover with lid, and cook on low for up to 3 hours.
- Strain the wine mixture.
- Pour into glasses.
- Garnish if desired.
