Nom nom nom: Mulled wine

Mulled wine has to be one of the few good things about winter. It's much easier to go to and return from work in darkness when you've got some hot, spicy wine to look forward to. (I am referring to the return journey but I suppose one could take the wine to work in a thermos. Note to self: try this and see if boss notices.)

Anyway, the best mulled wine isn't made with one of those odd little teabag things (although in a pinch, these from Oxfam are quite nice: fairtrade + wine = good for everyone concerned).


No, real mulled wine is made in a pot, with a large group of people standing around drooling as it starts to smell good. However, good mulled wine starts with the base wine. Cheap is fine but try not to go overboard. £0.52 "Fermented grape juice" from Lidl is probably overkill (and might literally kill...). To make the world's best mulled wine, you must buy and do these things:

Buy these:
- Red wine (One bottle to three people)
- Cinnamon stick
- Grated nutmeg
- One orange
- Brown sugar (300g)
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- Any of the following that you like: vanilla pods, star anise, lemon zest

Do this:
Start by sticking your sugar into a pan with all of the spices, the juice of the orange and covering it with just enough red wine that you can't see the sugar. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes on a low heat, stirring so that the sugar dissolves and you get a thick base syrup. Now that you've got the base syrup, add the bottle (or bottles) of wine and heat it for about three or four minutes. Use a ladle to serve it and consume. If you want to add another bottle of wine, you can always just stir in a bit more sugar and add some extra spices. Bear in mind that although it can be kept warm on the hob, the more it cooks, the more alcohol will be burned off. I turn mine off and then reheat when I need to serve another round. Actually that's untrue - there's never enough left to have to reheat it. It looks really pretty served in punch cups with a spring of orange peel and a cinnamon stick but failing that, wine glasses will do just fine. And a couple of mince pies warmed in the oven while you're heating the wine will go a long way towards pleasing the crowds roaring for hot spicy vin. As Stephen Fry says, it is nearly "Christmas after all"!