This really is the Best Mulled Wine Recipe!
A delicious Christmas drink made with warming spices infused in red wine.
Serve hot, but not boiling, it is the perfect winter drink, especially at Christmas or Thanksgiving.
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*Post updated November 2022
What is Mulled Wine?
Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine. It's a beverage usually made with red wine, various mulling spices, and sometimes fruit, as in my recipe.
It is alcoholic although there are non-alcoholic versions of mulled wine.
It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmastime, you'll find mulled wine sold in any good pub or food market stools, especially the famous Borough Market in London.
It is possible to make mulled white wine using a dry white wine and follow the same recipe although you might like to add more star anise and an extra cinnamon stick, oh and a splash of brandy....hic!
And by the way, mulled cider is also a thing! 😜
Ingredients and Spices for Mulled Wine
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 bottle of Merlot or other good red wine
- 1 orange - sliced
- 1 lime - quartered
- 3 star anise
- 1 lemongrass - the first layer of outer leaves removed and bashed with the back of a knife
How to make Mulled Wine
First, it really is worth buying a half-decent bottle of wine for this otherwise your mulled wine won't be as nice.
Put the sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat, and just enough wine to cover the sugar.
Add the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. With a sharp knife, slit the vanilla pod lengthways taking care not to go all the way through and add it to the pan.
Let it simmer until the sugar completely dissolves into the red wine, then bring it to a boil.
Keep on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup.
Doing this will create a fantastic flavour base as the sugar and spices infuse and blend well with the wine.
It’s essential to make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol.
When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your orange, lime, star anise, lemongrass and the rest of the wine.
Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Best Mulled Wine Recipe
Ingredients
- 175g caster sugar
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 75cl bottle Merlot or other good red wine
- 1 orange - sliced
- 1 lime - quartered
- 3 x star anise
- 1 lemongrass - first layer of outer leaves removed and bashed with the back of a knife
Instructions
- Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, and just enough wine to cover the sugar.
- Add the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. With a sharp knife, slit the vanilla pod lengthways taking care not to go all the way through and add it to the pan.
- Let it simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring it to a boil.
- Keep on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup.
- Doing this will create a fantastic flavour base as the sugar and spices to infuse and blend well with the wine. It’s important to make a syrup base first because it needs to be quite hot, and if you do this with both bottles of wine in there you’ll burn off the alcohol.
- When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your orange, lime, star anise, lemongrass and the rest of the wine.
- Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
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