Mulled Wine

Mulled Wine: Step by Step

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Pour just enough wine into a large pan to cover the sugar, about 250 ml.

   Mark done

2. Add the sugar, orange zest strips, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom, bay, vanilla pod and ginger.

   Mark done

3. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has completely dissolved, then simmer for 5 minutes to make a spiced syrup.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

4. This short simmer is the only time anything gets near a boil, and it concentrates the spice.

   Mark done

5. Turn the heat down low and pour in the remaining wine along with the orange and lemon slices.

   Mark done

6. Bring it to about 70°C / 158°F — steaming, with the occasional bubble at the edge, but never simmering. Use a thermometer if you have one.

   Mark done

7. Keep it there over the lowest heat for 20 minutes so the spices give up their flavour.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

8. Stir in the brandy or port at the very end, off the heat.

   Mark done

9. Ladle into heatproof glasses through a sieve, and garnish each with an orange slice and a cinnamon stick.

   Mark done

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

What Can Go Wrong

1. Never let it boil. You lose the alcohol and the wine turns harsh and stewed.
2. Zest strips rather than grated zest, and remove them; the white pith turns the wine bitter over time.
3. A cheap but drinkable fruity red is ideal. Nothing tannic or oaked, and nothing you would rather drink cold.

Changing the Recipe

• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

To Go With It

Gingerbread or stollen · Roasted chestnuts · A cold night outdoors

Leftovers

Refrigerate up to 3 days and reheat gently, never boiling. The spice syrup alone keeps 2 weeks.

Nutrition per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.