Mulled wine

Mulled wine is a traditional winter wine, most popular around Christmas time. It is usually made from red wine combined with a number of spices and typically served warm – it’s especially heart-warming after a nice Christmas dinner with family and friends.

(Preparation time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 30 minutes)

350 ml port wine, preferably tawny
750 ml red wine
60 ml lemon juice and orange juice
Skin of one mandarin
½ cup white cane sugar
½ tsp ground cloves
4-5 whole cloves
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cinnamon
Orange slices or cinnamon sticks to serve

Pour the red wine in a large pot. Then add the port wine and stir. Add all the spices, sugar and juice. Place the pot on low heat, stirring occasionally so as not to allow the mixture to boil. It is important that the wine is heated but not boiled as this would ruin the taste.

After 25 to 30 minutes of simmering, pass the mixture through a fine strainer to filter any residue left by the spices. Repeat two to three times. If you added the skin of one mandarin, then these should be all removed.

Store in clean empty bottles of wine in a cool dry place.

Serve in a small glass, adding an orange slice or cinnamon stick.

Cook’s notes
Tawny Port is made from red grapes and aged in wooden barrels. This allows the wine to be exposed to gradual oxidation and evaporation, thus ending with the barrel nutty flavour. Tawny ports are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine. Ruby port is cheaper and more extensively produced. It is stored in tanks made of concrete or stainless steel to prevent oxidative ageing. The wine is refined and cold filtered and does not normally improve with age.

My recipe for mulled wine uses a bottle of wine which is preferably of the cheaper variety. Over time, I have found out that mulled wine is tastier with common red wine because the spices and citrus ingredients in mulled wine will clash with the fine tastes of expensive wine. However, the rule of thumb is that if the wine is not good to drink then it’s not good for mulled wine.