Mulled wine, variations of which are popular around the world, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. Historically, wine often went bad. By adding spices and honey, it could be made drinkable again. Nowadays, it is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. Here’s a great recipe from allrecipes.com for a Hot Spiced Christmas Wine for you to try the next few days:
Ingredients
- 2 oranges
- 2 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
- 1 (3 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 cup brandy (optional)
Directions
- Use a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the oranges in strips, being careful to remove only the orange part, leaving the pith behind. Then, juice the oranges into a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
- Pour the red wine and white wine into the pot with the orange juice. Place the strips of orange zest, ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and brown sugar into the pot with the wine mixture; stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Cover and heat over medium-high until heated through, but not boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and heat for an hour or longer to bring all of the flavors together. Adjust the sweetness by adding more brown sugar, as necessary. Strain and serve hot with a splash of brandy, if desired.