Raising the Bar -- Mulled Wine

by Keith Waldbauer, Posted Nov 15th 2007 @ 3:54PM

Mulled Wine: Another oldie with numerous interpretations, mulled wine is simply hot, spiced wine. In Germany, it's called Glüewhein. The Nordic countries call it Glogg.

I like to prepare this at Thanksgiving, as there is nothing better than having the aroma of warm, spice-infused wine filling the house while waiting for the turkey to finish. I keep this pretty simple, but in addition to the ingredients listed below, you can, as others do, add brandy, madeira, sugar, ginger, almonds or even raisins.

2 bottles Cabernet or similar big-bodied red wine
2 packs of pre-packaged mulling spices, found at places like Whole Foods
Heat lightly in a non-aluminum pot until steaming, ladle into heat-resistant mugs. Garnish with an orange zest or wedge.

Now, I use spice packs simply because it is cleaner (all you have to do is pluck out the bag). If you'd rather use a tea ball, these are generally the spices you need: cinnamon, cardammon, cloves, and allspice.

Filed Under: Drinks, Wines, Spirits, Holidays, Raising The Bar
Tags: holidash

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Reader comments (Page 2 of 2)

12-17-2007 @7:25AM carole moran said... i have two bottle over from last year will they be ok to drink this year as I am loath to throw it away!
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12-17-2007 @5:57PM jim johnson said... My wife is from Norway and we make this each year. The packets of spice can be found in any liquor store starting arouned November. This year we paid $4.79 each. We boil the packet with 1 gallon of water for an hour and let it pull the oils out of the fruit and the water reduce. The we add the liquors. A fifth each of brandy, vodka, spiced rum, port wine and the final kicker 190 proof grain alcohol. Bring the Glogg back to a hard simmer and shut off the fire. It will taste better will a little age to it. Potent stuff-warm and pass out in small portions of 1-3 ounces.
PS- Keep and eye out for Grandma-she might keep sneaking into the kitchen for another shot of this. She could get quite goofy before the Churches midnight service.
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12-25-2007 @11:21AM EIJ said... We have just finished 1-1/2 gallons of Glögg last night when we celebrated Christmas Eve. It is easy to make.
1 gal. burgandy or Claret
1/2 gal vodka any kind (we use the least expensive) (Best would be Akvavit but it is too expensive, 1 orange and stick cloves in it all around)
in a piece of cheesecloth put 2 fig,1/2 cup of
racins,2-3 cinnamon sticks, a few cardemum seeds (not the pod but the seeds inside)tie it together.
heat to hot but not boiling, melt a couple of cups of suger or a couple of handfulls of cube sugar in the mixture.put out small juice glasses with a few raisin and slivered almonds leave the glögg on the stove and let your guests help themselves. We have a small table with the Glögg in a crockpot to keep hot(not boiling) and as we say in Sweden SKÅL AND MERRY CHRISTMAS DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE.
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12-25-2007 @12:06PM chris said... The sweddish exchange student has it right. The wife's family is all sweddish and using a 5 to 1 mix of a port wine to whisky will keep you very warm. No need to spend the extra money on a good cabernet
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12-25-2007 @12:30PM Ruth Ann McGrail said... I just purchased a case of Gluhwein at Trader Joe's here in the Wash DC area. This was imported from Germany and my German friend says it's authentic. $5.00 a bottle. 10% alcohol, so very mild, but very flavorable.
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12-25-2007 @8:24PM Anjum said... Over the years, I have concocted my own recipe of Glogg and it has always been with persons wanting to become and stay warm.
1. Add 3-4 cardamoms, 1-2 cinnamon sticks, 2-3 cloves in quarter cup of water and bring it to boil and let them simmer over slow heat for 2-3 mins.
2. Put quarter cup brandy (same as qty of water in 1 above) in a goblet.
3. Pour simmering water alongwith all contents in the goblet of brandy.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of honey.
5. Stir well.
6. Slip into something warm and sip and sniff the glogg.
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12-26-2007 @1:30PM Wilhelm Maier said... To solve the translation problem of Gluehwine above - the real translation is "glow"(because of the buzz you get after the second one), but burning is also frequently used - Was Sie Wollen! The experts on this stuff are the Germans and Austrians, where more of this is consumed on a given night between 11/27 & 12/25 (at the innumerable Weihnachtsmarkts), than in all of Scandinavia during the entire year.
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