In the thick of wintertime activities, there's nothing like savoring mulled wine to warm the soul. The celebratory punch, otherwise known in Sweden as "glögg" or "gluhwein" in Germany, conjures the season's festive flair through a decadent brew of sweet, licorice-y spices and bright wafts of citrus, commonly joined by garnishes like orange peels and cinnamon sticks.
Many Yuletide revelers might not realize that the elixir they see hawked in boot-shaped mugs at Christmas markets has a lengthy past -- we're talking centuries, if not millennia, of innovation. The notion of infusing alcohol with enhancements emerged in early Roman society, according to winegrowers' magazine Les Grappes, as a workaround to guzzling vino that was past its prime (the idea being that syrups and seasonings could revive the liquid into something tolerable).
Today's recipes, thankfully, won't recycle old dregs of Merlot, but rather showcase quality libations and aromatic additions to ring in the season. Still, if the Christmas spirit surges through your veins and tackling this cocktail has eluded you, helpful guidance will be the gift that keeps giving. We spoke to Corey Garner, a winemaker for The Federalist, and sommelier Nancy Kantz at Folino Estate Winery, to answer any questions you might be mulling over this season, and these 12 tips are the fruits of their labor. So grab a mug, and let's get holiday-ready!
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To channel the ruby tipples seen in the Christmases of yore, purchasing red wine will be the first step on your recipe checklist. Corey Garner at The Federalist says to look for a vino that's robust, yet with a hint of juicy sweetness to compliment the spices you'll add later on. The best wine for mulled wine should veer on the drier side, since mulled wines normally incorporate sugars, but it should still retain a jammy flair that doesn't descend into saccharine territory. "Fruit-forward and not overly tannic," Garner says, is ideal. "Think dark purple or red fruit notes."
It's easy to just snag any vermillion bottle you spot on the shelf, but are there specific varietals that will take your cocktail to the top? Folks over at Wine Enthusiast tout the woodsy undertones of a Pinot noir or a berry-heavy Grenache, while Wine365 favors a Chianti to infuse some funky character into the brew. Or go with Garner's recommendation: the classic Cabernet. That will lend your beverage even-handed amounts of sweet and spicy. Folino Estate's Nancy Kantz embraces a heady Chambourcin for mulled drinks, a type that's used in blended red wines.
While the holiday season revolves around generosity and giving, for mulling purposes, there's no need to overspend on the wine. There's just no point. Everything's going to get stewed in a bath of cloves and citrusy aromas, and the characteristics normally preserved in a standard glass will be blighted out by the spices. This explains why wine pro Corey Garner emphasizes measuring quality and value when picking a wine. There's a time and place for breaking out the rare Cabernet, and even the most discerning sommeliers know it's not for simmering a communal, come-one-come-all Yuletide punch.
This is not to say the quality of your wine doesn't "matter," per se. An uncorked bottle left out for a month will not cheer anyone, even when it's doused in extraneous enhancements. All that matters is picking out a red that's fresh-tasting and delicious to your palate's preferences, and that doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. After all, the market is saturated with cheap wines high in alcohol, so scoring a contender for your wintery glug probably won't come at the expense of your wallet. Keep this in mind once the time comes to purchase your mulling supplies. Give yourself a budget, and resist the urge to splurge on that Zinfandel.
The fruit-forward complexity of the alcohol, while crucial, is really just one element mulled wine needs to be holiday-ready. Oranges, whether sliced into rounds or peeled, imbue a lot of zing and brightness. They're also good for decoration. But to truly ring in the holiday spirit, it is never poor form to consider tossing more fruits into your spiced wine. In fact, unlike plenty of cocktail recipes, the incredibly versatile template of mulled wine opens up the creative possibilities. A handful of chopped apples or pears are welcome additions, both to up the Yuletide ante and more importantly, lend your warmer an additional burst of fruitiness. For a kick of tartness, Nancy Kantz of Folino Estate Winery says, you can't go wrong with juicy pomegranates.
Feel free to expand your citrus components beyond the obligatory orange, too. Multitudinous recipes embrace lemon or lime to perk up the aromatics. But if your tastebuds are sensitive to these sour fruits, clementines are a zesty alternative that's more subdued according to Corey Garner. Dried fruits -- think figs or raisins -- pair naturally with the tarter leaning of the red wine (not to mention they sponge up the booze while the brew percolates).
The spice cabinet is a wonderful asset for any home cook worth their salt (or pumpkin pie spice, in case you're going to build a holiday cookie tray for Santa). But for the sake of your winter mixer, it's a must to flavor your drink not with ground spices, but with whole ones. The result, according to Corey Garner from The Federalist, is a punch that contains purer, bold flavor and translates to a cleaner finish on the palate. It would be a bummer to take a swig and taste silty bits of the spice on the palate, wouldn't it?
Regarding specific quantities, mixing in a small amount of spice to begin is what Garner advises, so as to not overpower your drink. Otherwise, she adheres to a formula that might be useful for first-time wine-mullers: "I usually add three cinnamon sticks and five of everything else per bottle of wine to keep it simple," she instructs. Fill your bowl with the classic cornucopia -- the cinnamon sticks, the star anises, the cloves -- or to zhuzh up the traditional ruby glug, don't hesitate to embrace other enhancements to dial up the brew. Garner favors allspice and nutmeg, and to really bring the house down, whole vanilla pods. She says they add a "smooth, gourmand scent."
As far as mixological labor is concerned, dropping in whole pods of star anises or bay leaves is a cinch. However, wading through the floating debris in your bowl once it's ready can be a nuisance, especially if you don't have a strainer on hand. One trick to avoid polluting your brew with grounds is to create a little sachet. Essentially, this involves bundling your desired spices in cheesecloth, where it results in steeping the concoction as needed. It's similar to a teabag, in other words, only it's for wine, and it expels fragrant ginger-cookie aromas that make your kitchen smell like a bakery. Corey Garner and Nancy Kantz both told Chowhound that this approach results in little mess and easy clean-up. "I sometimes put the spices in cheesecloth or a spice bag, so I am not stuck trying to fish out each individual spice once it's ready," Garner says.
Once you've stirred together the sugars, fruits, and wine of your choosing, simply plop in the bouquet and let the steeping commence. Feel free to retrieve it out of the pot once it's suited to your tastes. If you prefer a bolder spiced wine, Garner suggests going long (about an hour) to really seal in the spices.
Frankly, mulled wine is so appealing to make because it's relatively uncomplicated: dump the mix-ins into a pot, watch it boil, and voila! Christmas has come to town. One risk you want to watch out for though is accidentally cooking off an excess of wine, which is why making a simple syrup of sorts for your mulled wine is so handy. It consolidates the oomph and nuance of your beverage, enhancing the range of aromas, but doesn't burn through the rest of your bubbly.
Donal Skehan, a TV chef known for his work with Jamie Oliver, creates his reduction with caster sugar in a YouTube video for Oliver's channel. He follows that with a plethora of citrus peels, spices, and a hearty dose of red wine. Boiling it, he stirs until the mixture develops a consistency akin to a rich berry jam (about five minutes), before pouring the remainder of his red wine to round out the rest of the batch.
Simple syrup is never worth buying at the supermarket because it's, well, simple to make. It only requires water (preferably hot) and sugar, plus whatever components you want to use to customize the flavors.
Tweaking a fruit-forward vino with baking spices inevitably renders a "sweet" beverage. So why would we want to dump in more sugar? Even in cocktail form, wine possesses a good amount of acidity from the fermentation, and the flavor grows fairly pronounced as it warms on the burner. You want mulled wine to feel as soothing and sumptuous as possible, and reaching for a sweetener is one tip to ensure your batch remains pleasant to swig.
Just like the ancient Romans who invented the beverage, Garry The Sommelier on YouTube opts to enrich his wine with a teaspoon of honey (using crystallized honey also works too!) but don't feel like you have to limit your options at this stage. If you don't have honey, try drizzling in your favorite maple syrup (the real deal), or good old-fashioned sugar (either brown or granulated versions are both solid considerations, so pick whatever you prefer).
Of course, you can fine-tune the sweetness to your taste, but winging the measurements could possibly make your mulled wine sickly and unbalanced. One general rule is abiding by a formula: about 2 to 3 tablespoons per pot is a good ratio.
A jolly good time is guaranteed anyway when nursing this splendid concoction, but why not boost the punch a smidge with something harder? Spirits offer a sensational shake-up to your beverage, since your wine, as it bubbles and roils on the burner, ends up losing some of the alcohol you would otherwise drink yourself. "Brandy will add a nice depth," Corey Garner says, which is a solid recommendation since the liquor flatters the base of the cocktail. Other fool-proof suggestions to splash include port or cointreau for its citrus flavor. A spiced rum does a nice job as well of doubling down on the peppery aromas.
While spiking your drink automatically elevates the sipping, Garner warns against a generous pour when the vino itself is stronger. Heavier shots in your cocktail might pack a bigger punch (particularly when the red harbors a steeper alcoholic content), so make sure you keep your (and your guests') tolerance in mind. You can always add alcohol to a drink, but it's much more challenging to temper a drink after you've accidentally overdone it on the liquor.
Getting tipsy is exactly why revelers whip up a spicy, warming mug of mulled wine season after season. However, as we mentioned in the booze section, you don't want to give yourself a splitting headache. To tone down the potency of your mulled wine -- and maybe stretch the brew further to accommodate later arrivals at your party -- it's a good idea to incorporate water into your mulled wine. Otherwise, your creation could be too intoxicating.
Hanbit Cho, who's a renowned pastry chef, divulges this tidbit as a must when making a batch, recommending 250 ml of water, or a cup total. His rationale, as he points out in a YouTube clip, is that the liquid content will reduce from the heat, rendering the wine a character that's intensely distilled. With water, the mixture can slowly come to a boil and not dissipate immediately just from sitting on the burner. Naturally, as "filler," swapping in some water will increase how much mulled wine there is to go around, meaning you won't dig out an extra bottle early in the night.
You might be tempted to crank the burner on your mulled wine, but hurrying the process along might ruin your batch for good. "The big callout here is to not let it boil," winemaker Corey Garner says, telling Chowhound that hurrying mulled wine by boiling it compromises the final result. "This can make the spices taste bitter and can evaporate the alcohol," he said. Keep in mind that 173 degrees Fahrenheit is the threshold for booze to dissipate, threatening to deplete should the temperature rise higher. Only a gentle simmer can unleash the full array of candied, earthy aromas, and if you're hoping to dazzle kith and kin with a memorable drink, you need to take it easy on the heat.
Mind you, a little roiling is necessary to kickstart the infusion process, so Garner suggests raising the dial to medium ("until just below simmering"). Just don't exceed this level, as the wine can scorch if the heat source is too strong. When the liquid begins to bubble, then you can pivot to turning down the knob for a lower temperature to settle things. The crux of this step is ensuring the wine cooks to marinate thoroughly without spluttering or scorching. Annual gatherings come once a year, and you don't want your celebration marred by a burnt drink.
A warming mug of mulled wine really shines at any festive shin-dig, and like any party, more is always merrier. So if you plan on hosting a larger crowd to partake in the fun, it's probably wiser to assemble your brew in a slow-cooker (the go-to gadget for our wine expert, Corey Garner). Using a Crock Pot is hands-off and easy, with automated functions that eliminate the need to check in every minute. Another perk to breaking out the Crock Pot is that the appliance is compact, meaning you can free up space on your stove for other dishes for the night ahead.
Admittedly, hot cocktails like mulled wine are quite adaptable, meaning there isn't always a set duration to simmer it for. Still, particular directions do apply even should you opt for the set-it-and-forget-it tactic, and from Garner's experience, bubbling between two and three hours (on low heat) will do the trick. "Once it has reached your desired level of infusion, you can lower the setting to 'warm' and remove the spices so as to not overinfuse," advises Garner. Assuming the liquid isn't scorched and tastes pleasantly Yankee Candle-ish (in a good way!), then more likely than not it's ready for you, and the folks gathered with you on Christmas Eve, to sip and savor.
To craft the merriest of mulled wines is an art, of course, but remember that it's also an experience. Presenting your libation in nice glassware with carefully selected garnishes is part of the ritual, and winemaker Corey Garner happily provides a few of her favorite embellishments to kick off the experience. "I love a clear glass, footed mug because it brings visibility to the beautiful red wine color and festive garnishes," says Garner. For cups, it's also important the material is protective against high heat (like ceramic) -- nobody needs to burn their fingers while communing in Christmas cheer! Another tip you need for the perfect hot punch is to heat the mug prior to drinking -- simply fill the vessel with water and heat in the microwave until steaming.
For dressing up the mug, you can pretty much opt for the same garnishes that flavored your concoction. The stewed orange peels left in the bowl can understandably be left out and replaced with a fresher rind, as well as a star anise pod and the postcard-perfect cinnamon stick. Folino Estate Winery's Nancy Kantz says she favors pomegranates and dried rounds of blood orange, and in classic seasonal flair, Garner suggests cranberries "for a fun hint of festivity in the glass." A sprig of rosemary lends a heavenly touch, bringing an herbal twist to the aromatics.