The ultimate mulled wine recipe

Virgin Wines’ ultimate mulled wine recipe

Warm, sweet, fruity and full of citrus and spice. That’s mulled wine in a nutshell, and what you’re aiming to achieve with your combination of ingredients.

For the quintessential mulled wine, there are certain spices that are absolutely essential, and these are cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, nutmeg and vanilla. Although for added complexity, we’d suggest a handful of peppercorns, coriander seeds and cardamom pods too.

To balance out those pungent spices, you’ll need to add in extra fruity flavours and up the sweetness. A few slices of clementine and lemon and a dash of freshly squeezed orange juice will add some much needed zest, while some chunks of apple will complement the clove and cinnamon nicely. For the sweetness, a big dollop of honey or some heaped tablespoons of caster sugar will strike the right balance.

Method:

1. Add the honey / sugar to a large saucepan on a medium heat, squeeze in some fresh clementine juice, and throw in your chunks of clementine, lemon and apple
2. Add in your more subtle spices (basically, everything but the star anise) and just enough red wine to submerge the ingredients, and simmer
3. Once the honey / sugar has blended into the wine, boil for a few minutes until the texture of the wine becomes syrupy
4. Reduce the heat to low, add in the star anise and the rest of the red wine, then cover and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes
5. Keep checking on it to ensure the blend doesn’t bubble – as this is a sign that too much alcohol is being burnt off!
6. Keep tasting, and top up with more honey / sugar or orange juice if you feel it’s lacking in sweetness or zest

For an extra punchy mulled wine, we’d recommend adding a splash of brandy (Cognac works best), whisky (go for Bourbon) or port to the pan once you’ve reduced the heat right down.

Choosing the right bottle for this isn’t as simple as picking any dry red. There are certain factors that are worth considering if you want your mulled wine to have an explosion of fruit flavours as well as spice.

The process of mulling can mean that a lighter style of red wine with more delicate flavours, such as Pinot Noir, will be pretty much undetectable in the end result. So stick to bolder, fruitier reds that can handle the heat for this traditional holiday drink. It’s also important not to use anything too tannic, as mulling wine tends to further concentrate tannins, which could lead to a slightly unpleasant sensation!

Our advice? Try an Australian Shiraz (a French Syrah will be too tannic), an Argentinian Malbec, or a fruity Italian varietal such as Nero d’Avola or Primitivo. Not only do these have all the attributes you need for making good quality mulled wine – bold, juicy and structured without the tannins being too harsh, with a good balance of fruit flavours and spice – they’re also relatively inexpensive without sacrificing on quality.

These wines also have a high alcohol content, which is important if you want your wine to retain a bit of structure after it’s been heated and had some of its alcohol burned off.

Once you’ve made your super juicy, warm and complexly flavoured mulled wine, all that’s left to do is serve it.

With so many ingredients in the saucepan, you’ll need to filter out any unwanted lumps and pips from the chunks of fruit. Ladle the wine into heatproof glass mugs and garnish with a slice of clementine and any spices you think look nice.

The final step is to find a nice cosy spot in the house, put your feet up, and enjoy the finest mulled wine of your life!

Top tip: Mulled wine is a great flavour match with mincemeat, so why not enjoy with a mince pie or two. Gingerbread biscuits will also complement your favourite festive drink very well.