Many people don’t realize that wine can be enjoyed hot. Most wines are served chilled or at room temperature, but mulled wine is a spicy, soul-warming beverage that has been enjoyed since Roman times. It tastes like the grownup cousin of hot mulled cider.
Those clever Romans knew that a steaming-hot cup of spiced wine could fend off even the most bitter winter chill. This tradition spread throughout Europe over the centuries, with each country giving it a unique name. In Sweden, it is known as glögg, and in Germany, as glühwein.
MORE: Spiced mulled wine
One of the best things about mulled wine is that you can make the spice mix easily with just a few ingredients and keep it on hand with a bottle of wine for festive entertaining or gift-giving.
Wine is a classic hostess gift, and including a little jar of this spice mix makes it an extra-special homemade winter treat.
Simply mix the spices in a bowl and transfer them into a decorative jar. Include a card with instructions for making the tasty beverage. Present it with the red wine of your choice. A sweet wine is traditional, but you can change it up for the dry-wine lover in your life. The choice is yours!
As they say in Germany, prost! (Cheers!)
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Mulled wine mix
Yield 1 jar
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 tablespoons dried orange peel
- 50 grams palm sugar
- 3 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- 1 (750-milliliter) bottle red wine or grape juice
Instructions
- Mix all spice ingredients together in bowl.
- Fill into cleaned and sterilized jar
- Tie with ribbon and attach gift tag with these instructions:
Empty the contents of the wine bottle and spice mix jar into a pot. Heat on medium until nearly boiling, but DO NOT boil. Heat for 30 minutes, then strain the mulled wine and return it to the pot. Add rum for additional flavor if desired.
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