Mulled wine is your ultimate cozy holiday drink that will keep you warm this festive season! Simplest and easiest winter cocktail is here to help you kick start your holiday season! This traditional drink can be made on the stove top, slow cooker or instant pot.
What Should You Know About Mulled Wine Recipe?
- Hands down one of the easiest and simplest winter cocktail out there. It doesn’t get easier than steeping wine with winter warming spices, fruits and sweetener. Heat in pot on LOW flame to let the spices blend in.
- Best ways to kick start holiday party. This vintage recipe adds a warm charm to the party; your guests would love it.
- It can be made on the stove top, in slow cooker or crockpot without almost no prep work and no hands on cooking time.
- A cozy drink to help warm up during winter evenings.
- Comforting drink perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a crowd pleaser!
- Steeping wine with spices, oh boy my house smells like Christmas! Don’t you want that beautiful scent to linger on?
- Mulled wine sold in stores are mostly super sweet and spicy. And comparatively expensive.
- Homemade version of traditional mulled wine is not just cheaper and helps you save $$, but you can control how sweet or how strong the spices should be steeped into the wine according to your preference.
- No need to buy expensive bottle of red wine. The flavor of wine will be enhanced and changed with mulling. Grab a bottle of inexpensive wine.
- It keeps well for 3 days in refrigerator. Great for make ahead drinks. But best served hot immediately.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 bottle of dry red wine I used Cabernet Sauvignon
- ½ cup brandy optional but recommended
- ½ cup demerara sugar or other sweetener of your choice like honey, maple syrup
- 2 orange cut into slices
- 6 cloves
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 6-8 cardamom pods
- 4 star anise
- 1 teaspoon all spices
For Garnish:
- Orange slices
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star Anise
Wine – pick inexpensive bottle of dry red wine for mulled wine recipe. You don’t need expensive wine. You can use any of these Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Chianti, Merlot
Brandy – optional but will add a nice flavor the cocktail. Flavored liqueur like orange flavored brandy works great.
Spices – Be judicious on the amount of spices. Choose the amount of spices that suits YOUR taste. Feel free to include other spices that you may like or reduce the amount of spices mentioned in the recipe or leave out any spice that is not your personal favorite. Do NOT use ground spices.
A traditional mulled wine usually includes all these whole spices – cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods, all spices, cloves
Sweetener – feel free to use any sweetener of your choice. I have used demerara sugar. Granulate white sugar, honey, maple syrup or stevia can be used.
If you like sweeter cocktail increase the amount of sweetener in the recipe.
Fruits – fresh orange cut into slices. Other fruits can also be used.
Additions And Substitutions
Other Spices – Nutmeg, bay leaves, vanilla pod, fennel seeds, fresh ginger slices, chili pepper, coriander seeds.
Other Fruits – apples, pear, grapes are best choices.
Fresh Berries – berries can also be added. Berries like cranberries, cherries.
Some German mulled wine recipe calls for adding nuts and raisins. Almonds and raisins.
How To Make Mulled Wine On The Stove Top(with step-by-step pictorial)?
- In a large sauce pan or pot pour red wine. Add in all whole spices – cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, star anise, all spice. Add demerara sugar, orange slices.
- Give it a stir.
- Heat wine on LOW flame. Behold the temptation to heat wine on high temperature and let it boil. Boiling will evaporate all alcohol from wine.
- Cover and let it heat on LOWEST heat on your stove. Please do not let wine boil. Allow the spices and fruit flavors to steep into wine. You can let wine steep anywhere between 15 minutes to 5 hours. The longer you steep, flavors will be stronger.
- When done, turn off flame. Strain spices and fruits from the pot using strainer. Discard fruits and spices. Note – I removed the fruits and most of the whole spices using strainer spatula. Tiny spices while all spices were strainer using a fine strainer.
- Serve wine immediately in heat proof mugs. Mulled wine is best enjoyed while it’s hot.
How To Make Mulled Wine In Slow Cooker (Mulled Wine in Crockpot)?
- Set slow cooker to low.
- Pour wine, add spices, fruits and sweetener to the cooker. Stir.
- Heat it until spices and fruits are steeped. You can steep it for 1 hour to 5 hours. The longer you steep, stronger the flavors will be.
- Serve hot.
What Is Mulled Wine?
Mulled wine is a traditional winter cocktail. Wine steeped with mulling spices and fruits are served on cold winter evenings. It’s a great holiday drink for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Different regions make this age old traditional winter cocktail slightly different.
In some countries, nuts and raisins are also including to mulling wine.
What’s The Best Wine For Mulled Wine Recipe?
No need to buy expensive bottle of red wine. The flavor of wine will be enhanced and changed with mulling. Grab a bottle of inexpensive wine.
Dry red wine is best .You can use any of these Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Chianti, Merlot
If you want to be mulled white wine, choose any inexpensive dry white wine and follow the recipe as it is.
Tips To Make Best Mulled Wine Recipe
- For best results use dry red wine.
- Wine should be heat low and slow. Hold the temptation to increase heat to boil wine assuming that might help steep fruits and spices into wine. No, it wont! You’d rather be boiling away all alcohol content from wine. DO NOT BOIL.
- Use whole spices only. We do not want the grits of ground spices. Ground spices will make change wine texture to grainy and gritty which is not pleasant. Whole spices will impart beautiful flavor and aroma to the drink.
- Be judicious on the amount of spices. Don’t go overboard. A few spices are enough to add flavor and aroma to the wine. Choose the amount of spices that suits YOUR taste.
- Be sure to taste your mulled wine before serving. Stir in extra sweetener is you find the mulled wine too strong.
- Be sure to fish out all the spices before serving. Use cheesecloth if you have to remove all the spices.
- Other liqueur like brandy is optional but highly recommended. It will enhance the flavor.
- Don’t miss out of garnish. Few slices of fresh oranges, cinnamon stick and star anise.
- Always serve mulled wine hot in heat proof mugs.
MORE WINTER DRINKS:
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Simple Mulled Wine Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bottle dry red wine I used Cabernet Sauvignon
- ½ cup brandy optional but recommended
- ½ cup demerara sugar or other sweetener of your choice like honey or maple syrup
- 2 orange cut into slices
- 6 cloves
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 6-8 cardamom pods
- 4 star anise
- 1 teaspoon all spices
For Garnish:
- Orange slices
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star Anise
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan or pot pour red wine.
- Add in all whole spices – cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, star anise, all spice. Add demerara sugar, orange slices.
- Heat wine on LOW flame. Behold the temptation to heat wine on high temperature and let it boil. Boiling will evaporate all alcohol from wine.
- Cover and let it heat on LOWEST heat on your stove. Please do not let wine boil.
- Allow the spices and fruit flavors to steep into wine.
- You can let wine steep anywhere between 15 minutes to 5 hours. The longer you steep, flavors will be stronger.
- When done, turn off flame. Strain spices and fruits from the pot using strainer. Discard fruits and spices. Note – I removed the fruits and most of the whole spices using strainer spatula. Tiny spices while all spices were strainer using a fine strainer.
- Serve wine immediately in heat proof mugs. Mulled wine is best enjoyed while it’s hot.
Video
Notes
- For best results use dry red wine.
- Wine should be heat low and slow. Hold the temptation to increase heat to boil wine assuming that might help steep fruits and spices into wine. No, it wont! You’d rather be boiling away all alcohol content from wine. DO NOT BOIL.
- Use whole spices only. We do not want the grits of ground spices. Ground spices will make change wine texture to grainy and gritty which is not pleasant. Whole spices will impart beautiful flavor and aroma to the drink.
- Be judicious on the amount of spices. Don’t go overboard. A few spices are enough to add flavor and aroma to the wine. Choose the amount of spices that suits YOUR taste.
- Be sure to taste your mulled wine before serving. Stir in extra sweetener is you find the mulled wine too strong.
- Be sure to fish out all the spices before serving. Use cheesecloth if you have to remove all the spices.
- Other liqueur like brandy is optional but highly recommended. It will enhance the flavor.
- Don’t miss out of garnish. Few slices of fresh oranges, cinnamon stick and star anise.
- Always serve mulled wine hot in heat proof mugs.
Linda
Loved how easy this way to make and, since I always have wine in the house, it seemed like a no-brainer to give this a try. I think I’d even make it just for the aromas coming from it as it steeped. lol But I really love the fact that it isn’t as sweet as store bought and the amount of spices was perfect. Thanks for this great holiday cocktail.
Jyothi Rajesh
Hope you like it Linda
Chef Dennis
Tasty! This Mulled wine is perfect for our winter nights! My wife will surely to try this.
Melanie C
Mulled wine is one of my favorite drinks of the winter! I love to sip it around a campfire with my hubby!
Sharon
This mulled wine is a must-have during the holidays, it’s so delicious and makes the house smell like Christmas.
Denise
Mulled wine during the winter is so lovely! Not only the deliciousness of drinking it, the scent throughout the house is so comforting!
Sam
This is such a classic holiday drink! I bet the house smells amazing when making it. Sharing with a few friends who would love this,
Moop Brown
This looks so perfect for the holidays! I love the way the instant pot was used for this recipe as well.
Jamie
This is such a great festive drink! I love all the spices in here. It goes perfectly with the wine. We’ll be enjoying this for the holidays!
Cindy
This tasted so good and is so easy to make! I really liked the cardamom in there and will never make mulled wine without it after this! Thanks for the lovely drink recipe.
Naiby
OMG, Jyothi, it’s like, you read my mind! I was just talking to my friend the other day about how we should have mulled wine outside with a few friends. (I had no clue how to make it). And now you gave me a recipe! I couldn’t be happier. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie
I am not a big fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, what else can I use? Could I use a cranberry wine?
Jyothi Rajesh
From what I know and tried mulled wine recipe is made of dark red wine only. I haven’t tried it with cranberry wine so can’t really comment on it