MULLED WINE

When the temperature plummets there are few things more uplifting than wrapping your hands around a warm glass of fragrant mulled wine, or cider …. there is something immensely comforting about sipping hot, spiced wine when it’s freezing outside.

Mulled wine was originally designed to show off the wealth and generosity of a medieval household and recipes for it go back as far as ‘The Forme of Cury’, a cookery book published in the late 14^th century; although 600 years on the pungent results are not quite to our modern-day taste buds.

By the 19th century, in her recipe for mulled wine, Mrs Beeton includes cloves, grated nutmeg, cinnamon, wine and sugar, but declares "it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful".

The Scandinavian version of mulled wine, glögg, which has flaked almonds and raisins added, is often laced with vodka or other neutral spirits, and tends to be more potent, unlike the glühwein on offer at the famous German Christmas markets.

Working in Bath for much of this month, I have had plenty of opportunity to sample the wares of the many Christmas market stalls that have taken the town by storm (if you are not a fan of crowds then steer well clear). Sadly, when it comes to warm alcohol, these commercial offerings are often disappointing; weak and lacking in any discernable festive character; spices, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg.

At home, for Christmas drinks parties mulled wine does provide a cost-effective way of pleasing a crowd, enabling you to use an inexpensive fruity red, rather than crack open a bottle of your best claret. It is also the perfect accompaniment for homemade mince pies; I have yet to come across a shop bought one that cuts the mustard, no matter how glamorous sounding.

I usually prefer to make my own mulled wine, tweaking the recipe to suit my mood, and I have found that mulled wine spice sachets can make great stocking presents.

Delia Smith, who happens to be Mrs. Beeton’s great-grand-daughter, adds honey along with orange and lemon to her version, allowing it to simmer before serving. The citrus is a good match with the spices, and I wholeheartedly agree with her addition of Grand Marnier to perk things up.

Not to be outdone, Jamie Oliver uses a syrup base, made by putting sugar in a large pan along with some clementine juice and peel, lemon and lime peel, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, nutmeg and vanilla, adding enough red wine to cover it, heating it gently until the sugar has dissolved, then boiling it until thick and syrupy. Once strained, this infused syrup can be cooled and kept to use as the base for your mulled wine.

For those less inclined towards mixology, supermarkets have been quick to jump on the band wagon, with virtually all of them offering their own ready-to-heat versions.

These were rated highly in a recent taste test conducted by the Good Housekeeping team.

Morrisons Mulled Wine, (10%abv.) £3.75 came out top. The panel loved its Christmassy flavour and were impressed by its deep, vibrant colour and its fruity, ginger aroma. Accolades all round for the hints of cinnamon, ginger and citrus, giving a delicately sweet and spiced, smooth drink with a warming but balanced kick of alcohol.

Runner up was Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Mulled Wine, (11%abv.) £6. With its deep, dark raspberry hue, and gently spiced cinnamon and clove aroma, the subtle sweetness was found to be pleasant, but the sharp kick of alcohol was slightly bitter for some.

Third in line was M&S Red Mulled Wine, (12.5%abv.) £4. This festive full-bodied wine, with its sweet, smooth finish is suitable for vegans, and has an aroma of zesty oranges and comforting Christmas berry fruits with a hint of apple. 

Most shop bought mulled wines are relatively low in alcohol when compared with many red wines on the market but can easily be perked up by the addition of your favourite spice or spirit.

The rule of thumb is to heat the wine, but not to allow it to boil, as that would destroy the alcohol, and mix and match with the other ingredients according to your own taste. Some people like to use brown sugar or honey as an added sweetening element, but these can tend to dominate; I prefer to use plain caster sugar. As for adding any kind of spirit, brandy is my first choice, but a slug of good dark rum, cherry brandy or an orange flavoured liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier can be just as good.

MULLED WINE – serves 12

Juice of 1 large orange, plus its zest

1 lemon, peel only

5oz. caster sugar

5 cardamom pods, crushed

6 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2 bottles of inexpensive red wine

6fl. oz. Stone’s Green Ginger Wine

To serve – orange wedges studded with cloves

- Add the orange juice to a large saucepan along with the zest, lemon peel, sugar and spices.

- Add sufficient wine to just cover the ingredients and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally.

- Bring to the boil and cook until it forms a thick syrup (approx. 6 mins.).

- Turn down the heat and add the rest of the wine to the saucepan, along with the ginger wine.

- Gently heat through and serve, adding the orange segments as a garnish.