Classic Mulled Wine

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Let’s cozy up with some mulled wine. Turn on some music, build a fire or light some candles, throw some spices and wine in a pot, and embrace the holiday season. It’s really that simple.

I’ve always associated mulled wine with holiday parties, but a single batch is perfect for two to four people. Mulled wine is unbelievably easy to make, even on a weeknight, and fills your home with holiday fragrance.

This mulled wine is for wine lovers. I’ve encountered a few mulled wines over the years that tasted like sweet potpourri, but not this recipe. It’s fruity and spiced, but the wine still shines through.

You just might even have all of the ingredients at home! If so, you’re just fifteen minutes away from mulled wine. Let’s make some.

How to Make the Best Mulled Wine

Follow the foolproof recipe below, and your mulled wine will turn out perfectly every time. Here are some key tips:

1) Choose your wine carefully.

Use an affordable bottle of Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha. You’ll find more wine details in the ingredients section below.

2) Heat gently.

Resist the urge to crank up the heat on your mulled wine! If your wine is steaming, it’s hot enough. Wine is delicate. Heat it too long or too high, and eventually your wine will taste too spicy, syrupy and almost raisin-like, and the alcohol will evaporate over time.

3) Go easy on the spices.

You might be surprised by how few spices we’re adding, but they are potent. Upon first sip, you might think, “This doesn’t taste spicy enough,” but I promise you’ll change your mind by your second glass.

Mulled Wine Ingredients

Keep in mind that these ingredients are very easily multiplied. One bottle of wine will yield five drinks (enough for two to four people), two bottles yield 10 drinks, and so on.

Red Wine

Wine forms the backbone of this recipe, so naturally, your wine selection is important. Some red wines that you might enjoy at room temperature will not taste so nice when heated. Do not use expensive wine for mulled wine, since we’re adding so much to it. Just choose a quality wine (say, 10 to 20 dollars per bottle) and select the varietal carefully.

The best red wine to use for mulled wine is Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha (also called Grenache). These wines are dark, fruity and full bodied, which means they can support all of the flavors we’ll be adding. Look for labels that describe the wine as “jammy” or with “notes of vanilla.”

Avoid red wines that are high in tannins or super oaky in flavor, like Cabernet Sauvignon (I say this as someone who generally enjoys Cabernet Sauvignon). Also avoid very light red wines, like Pinot Noir, because they don’t offer enough body to carry the spices.

Brandy

Brandy amps up the alcohol content a bit, though we aren’t using much. It’s more for warming flavor and a little bite than anything else. I used E&J VSOP, which is affordable and fine.

You can omit the brandy if you don’t want to buy it, though you may want to keep a bottle around for sangria.

Fresh Oranges

We’re going to squeeze some of the fresh orange juice into the mixture, then slice the rest to make rounds. Oranges are in season during the cold months, so you should be able to find nice, juicy oranges at the grocery store.

Buy two small oranges if you can, just because smaller rounds fit better into mugs. Or, one large will do—you just might need to slice your rounds into half-moons to fit.

Whole Spices

We’ll need whole cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Whole spices, rather than ground, are absolutely key to mulled wine. The good news is that whole spices keep longer than ground spices (a few years, even). I hope you have these in your pantry already—if not, they’re worth keeping around for spiced ginger tea or hot toddies.

Maple Syrup or Honey

Alcohol flavor becomes more harsh when heated, so we’ll balance out the flavors which just a tablespoon or two of real maple syrup or honey. Wine lovers will love this naturally sweetened mulled wine recipe because it is not too sweet.

I honestly can’t decide whether I like maple syrup or honey better. They both offer some extra flavor that plays wonderfully with the other ingredients.

Garnishes

To make mulled wine look even more festive, I love to throw a handful of fresh cranberries into the pot before serving. You might also like to serve individual servings with additional orange rounds or half-moons, cinnamon sticks and/or star anise.

Suggested Serving Equipment

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Cook the mulled wine in a medium heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or stainless steel pot. My 3.5-quart Le Creuset is large enough to accommodate several batches at once. Dutch ovens are great because they retain heat well and just look so pretty when you’re serving straight out of the pot.

Or, warm your mulled wine in a slow cooker. Simply combine all of the ingredients, cover, and cook on low heat until the wine is steaming hot (about 30 minutes to 1 hour). Once it’s sufficiently warmed up, reduce the heat to “warm” or the lowest possible setting so it doesn’t get too spicy.

Serve your mulled wine with a ladle. In a pinch, you can use a heatproof measuring cup to scoop. Place a dark tea towel on a plate to give your guests somewhere to place the ladle when it’s not in use.

Lastly, serve your wine in mugs. Glass mugs are fun because you can see the mulled wine inside. I got my pretty glass mugs from Crate and Barrel, but they seem to be out of stock. Here are more great options.

Mulled Wine Serving Suggestions

This mulled wine is lovely on its own before meals or after dinner. Here are a few snacks that would pair well with it:

• Cranberry Crostini
• Naturally Sweetened Candied Pecans
• Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
• Perfect Stovetop Popcorn or Cinnamon Maple Caramel Popcorn
• Sweet & Spicy Roasted Party Nuts

More Warming Holiday Drinks to Enjoy

• Creamy Golden Milk (Hot or Iced)
• Hot Toddy
• Favorite Hot Chocolate
• Fresh Ginger Tea
• Irish Coffee

View all of my cocktail recipes here. Please let me know how your mulled wine turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.