Warm yourself from head to toe with a hot drink on a blustery day. Mulled wine does that and more. Popularized in Germany and Scandinavia, mulled wine has been a holiday favorite for hundreds of years. Christmas markets in cities and towns all over Europe swell with shoppers who turn to mulled wine when they want to warm up their chilly fingers and toes. It really does have the effect of rosying cheeks and making spirits bright.
Just recently I visited the opening of the Christmas Fair at Vörösmarty Square in the heart of Budapest. And this month I plan to visit as many holiday markets as I can. I love the holiday atmosphere and the feeling of conviviality that I get when I visit fairs like these. In Budapest's markets not only can you get mulled wine (forralt bor), but also alcoholic punch, apple cider, hot tea, hot cocoa and even rum-spiked beverages. But my favorite will always be my dad's way of drinking hot wine.
My version is based on his wintry drink of choice, which he'd take on hunting expeditions. He used to fill up a thermos with a combination of red wine and strong brewed tea. It was how he warmed up in the cold outdoors while he was up in his treehouse spying deer. I'm sure there wasn't enough alcohol in the drink to affect his aim, because he always managed to come home with something. But my best memories were when as a young kid I'd tag along and he'd give me a sip of his drink. I felt like it was a right of passage to try this special concoction of his.
Mulled wine is typically made with a good dry wine sweetened with sugar and flavored with various spices, including cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, among others. In old fashioned times, wine was mulled to take away its foul or spoiled taste. The tradition was born out of practicality. But that is no longer the case. Use good but inexpensive wine for this drink. There's no reason to set the bank back when the flavor will come mostly from the spices you add.
This recipe is not your knock-you-out variety. It's a bit more tame and friendly. I start with a strong brew of tea, either Earl Grey or Assam, which I simmer with sugar, the rind and juice of an orange (or mandarin or clementine), and the spices, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise, and cardamom. I pour in the wine and simmer just until it's hot. Any longer would lose all the alcohol, which is the key if you expect to get a bit of buzz after drinking this concoction. The tea adds a more complex flavor and keeps the drink from getting way too potent. It's not traditional, but it's my new custom for mulling wine.
Mulled Wine with Tea
3 cups strong brewed tea
3/4 cup sugar
1 orange, peel and juice
2 sticks cinnamon, plus more for garnish
12 gratings nutmeg
5 cloves
2 star anise
5 cardamom pods
1 750-ml bottle dry red wine, such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
Bring the tea to a simmer in a medium pot. Add orange peel and juice, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom. Simmer gently until the sugar is dissolved and the orange rind has taken on the color of the wine, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer. Ladle the mulled wine into mugs and add a cinnamon stick to each for a stirrer. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
