Cooped up for Christmas? Make it cozy with a warm and fragrant bowl of mulled red wine. Here’s how.
I love to serve mulled wine at Christmas parties. It is a traditional European holiday hot drink made by adding fragrant spices and fruits to red wine. You may have tried it at Christmas markets, but why not try to make it at home? Not only is it very enjoyable to drink, the scent is very Christmassy!
Although the idea of mulled wine may seem fancy, it is actually really easy to make. Every family has a different recipe, and for me, I like to use red table wine and sparkling cider.
Hot mulled wine（for 2）
Ingredients：
Half a bottle red wine
1/3 bottle sparkling cider
1 apple
1 orange
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground nutmeg
50g sugar
Instructions︰
- Cut the apple and orange into big slices, leaving the skin on. Add to a pot at medium heat to warm up.
- Add sugar and some of the red wine to the pot and heat for approximately 5 minutes, until the sugar has melted and the consistency of the wine start to thicken.
- Add star anise, cinnamon and enough red wine and cider to cover the spices. Turn heat to low and simmer until warm. Add nutmeg, and serve immediately.
Mulled wine should be enjoyed while it is warm. The sweet scent of the spices is also warming, perfect for our cold winters!
Tips：
- There is no need to buy expensive red wine for this as the spices will mask the taste.
- Feel free to adjust the amount of spices and wine to your taste。
- Start with a small dash of the red wine to melt the sugar and create a syrupy base before adding the rest of the wine. This is to avoid heating up the wine too much and for too long, as the alcohol in the wine and the cider will boil off at high temperature!
