The Best Mulled Wine Recipe | Ambitious Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is the best wine to use to make mulled wine? ›

The best wines for mulled wine are richly fruity, medium-bodied ones with little oak aging, because these stand up to the bold sweetness and spice of the hot drink without tasting too tannic. For example, try a Chilean Merlot, a Zinfandel from California or a Grenache from Spain.

Sugar or honey.

Not all recipes call for it, but often you will need it to balance out bitterness and/or alcohol. My expert advice: do not add any sugar or honey until the very, very end. You want to add it to taste because depending on the random wine you're using and the spirit, you may not need much of it, if any.

During the Christmas period, some stores will sell ready-prepared mulled wine and these are generally improved by adding extra citrus and a flavoured spirit or liqueur. Try our top mulled wine recipe and take a look at our mulled wine collection for more ideas.

Simmer. Cook the mulled wine on medium-high heat until it just barely reaches a simmer. (Avoid letting it bubble — you don't want to boil off the alcohol.) Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Use cheap wine. Don't break out a special bottle for this. Cooking the wine will change it: Some of the alcohol blows off (hence the need for added brandy), the wine may taste more acidic (hence the need for added sugar) and any of its delicate, nuanced aromas will become largely undetectable.

Just like with the best wines for sangria, the wines you choose for mulled wine don't need to be fancy (you'll be adding other ingredients to it anyway so there's no need to break the bank on an expensive bottle).

You need to infuse the wine long enough with the spices to take on their flavour but DON'T ON ANY ACCOUNT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL as you'll be left with a bitter taste. Slow and low is the way to go. And it shouldn't be served piping hot, just comfortably - and comfortingly - warm.

Either some carbon dioxide was trapped inside when the wine was bottled, or the wine started to re-ferment while in the bottle, and the bubbles are a byproduct. A little fizz won't make you sick, but I find it unpleasant, and it usually comes with a yeasty stink.

The Spices

Ground spices are much easier to overdo, which can lead to a bitter mulled wine that tastes more like raw cinnamon than a delightful, warming beverage. Cinnamon is the most essential spice in mulled wine.

When you're ready to make the mulled wine pour a bottle of wine into a large pan. Add a slice each of lemon and orange and the spice sachet. Bring just to the boil and simmer gently for 15min. Remove the spice sachet, lemon and orange and serve.

Can you drink mulled wine straight from the bottle? ›

Yes. Even though the spiced wine is heated, most of the alcohol remains.

Pomegranate juice serves as the base for this virgin variation on the festive winter beverage, and is flavored with fresh oranges, ginger, a bit of sugar and, of course, mulling spices.

Be careful not to overcook as the wine will reduce. Remove pan from heat. Cover and steep until well-flavored. We recommend letting it steep 5 to 10 minutes.

One important thing to remember when making your mulled wine – don't boil or heat it for too long! You'll cook off all the alcohol and be left with tasty but boozeless mulled grape juice.

A delicious ready made mulled wine, perfect for parties, or even just warming you up on these chilly evenings. Aromatic, fruity, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

Zinfandels, Merlots, Syrah/Shiraz, or Garnache tend to work best. Avoid red wines high in tannins or have an oaky flavor, and avoid light reds. Sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to have a full-bodied, fruity flavor, can work in a pinch, as can Malbec, which tends to have a bold, spicy flavor.

These delightfully layered notes make the Carneros Pinot Noir the perfect choice for mulled wine.

Generally speaking, you won't go wrong using a relatively dry, but fruity (or “fruit-forward”) wine for mulling. And, if the recipe you choose calls for a dose of brandy or other liquor, you'll probably want to choose a wine that's low in alcohol (unless, of course, you have a specific goal in mind).

Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and dry sparkling wines labeled "brut" are especially good choices. Fuller whites with strong, oaky flavors, like some Chardonnays, don't work as well for cooking because they are lower in acidity and don't provide as much punch as the crisper wines.