Mulled wine: the recipe, the spices, and which wine to use

Mulled wine is hard to ruin and very easy to make badly. The two usual mistakes are boiling it, which burns off the alcohol and turns the tannins bitter, and using a wine so cheap that no amount of spice can save it.

Here is the version that works.

The recipe

Serves 6.

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar or honey, to taste
• 1 orange, sliced, or a handful of dried orange slices
• 2 cinnamon quills, 4 cloves, 2 star anise
• Optional: 50ml brandy, added at the end

1. Put everything except the brandy in a pot.
2. Heat gently. You want steam and the odd bubble at the edge, never a simmer. Around 70°C is right.
3. Hold it there for 20 to 30 minutes. The spices need time, and time is what you are trading for heat.
4. Taste and adjust the sugar. Add the brandy at the end if you are using it.
5. Ladle out, leaving the spices in the pot, and garnish each glass with a fresh dried orange slice.

Which wine to use

A medium-bodied, fruity red with soft tannins. In New Zealand that usually means a merlot, a cheaper pinot noir, or a grenache blend. Something in the $12 to $18 range is the sweet spot.

Avoid a heavily oaked cabernet or a big shiraz, because oak and tannin turn harsh when heated. Also avoid the very cheapest cask wine, since sugar and spice cover a multitude of sins but not all of them.

The spices that actually matter

• Cinnamon does most of the work, and quills beat ground, which makes the wine cloudy.
• Cloves are powerful. Four is plenty for a bottle. Six is medicinal.
• Star anise gives it depth. Two, no more.
• Citrus is not optional. It is the acidity that stops the whole thing tasting like syrup.
• Cardamom or nutmeg are worth adding if you have them, in small amounts.

If you would rather not buy five jars of spice for one pot, our mulled wine kit has the blend measured out with citrus already in it. Add wine and heat.

Four things that go wrong

• It boiled. The alcohol goes, the tannins turn bitter, and it cannot be fixed.
• Too many cloves. Start with fewer than you think.
• Ground spice instead of whole. Cloudy, gritty and harder to strain.
• Not enough acid. If it tastes flat and sweet, add more citrus rather than more sugar.

Making it ahead, and keeping it warm

Mulled wine improves with an hour of sitting. Make it in the afternoon, take it off the heat, and warm it gently before guests arrive. A slow cooker on low is the easiest way to keep it at temperature all evening without boiling it.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for a couple of days and reheat gently, which is a good enough reason to make a double batch.

Mulled cider, and a version without alcohol

The same spices work in cider, which is lighter and suits people who find mulled wine heavy. Our mulled cider kit is built around pear and citrus for exactly that.

For a non-alcoholic pot, use a mix of apple juice and cranberry juice with the same spices and a good squeeze of lemon. Heat it the same way. It is genuinely good rather than a consolation, and children can have it too.

Serving it

Heatproof glasses or small mugs, never your good wine glasses, which can crack. A dried orange slice on top of each serve does the job a fresh wheel cannot, because it will not go soggy while it sits.

Our kits and garnishes are handmade in the Waikato, and shipping is free over $100. Have a look at the mulled wine and mixer range.