The Secret To Making Luscious Mulled Wine This Winter

by Loren Quimbo October 31, 2021

Mulled wine is a festive drink that can be enjoyed during the winter months. It's usually made with red wine, oranges, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and sugar.

It also has a long tradition, so it’s fun to learn how to make mulled wine, experiment with different ingredients, and most especially, drink it!

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make this delightful beverage for those who want to enjoy something warmer on their taste buds during this cold season.

What You Should Use

As for equipment, you should be able to use whatever you have in the house. You don't need any special tools to make mulled wine!

But if you like having everything in one place and easy to find, it's best to buy some equipment that helps with preparation as well as cooking the wine.

  • Cups / Coffee Mugs

You will need teacups or coffee mugs for serving mulled wine. Remember that clear glass is best because it doesn’t contain any colorings that can change your beverage’s taste!

If possible, get glasses made from tempered glass since they are stronger and safer for drinking alcohol in general.

The ideal serving should be 6 to 8 ounces since this drink isn't designed to make people drunk but rather enjoy themselves with friends over good conversation.

  • Saucepan, Dutch Oven, or a Slow Cooker

You will need a saucepan, dutch oven, or slow cooker to make your batch. You can serve it from the stove if you're having an informal gathering with friends and family.

You can also enjoy serving this pot of yummy goodness out on special occasions like birthdays! However you serve it, a ladle is a welcome way to fill your cup.

  • Other Ingredients

Your spice cabinet is probably stocked with most ingredients. You’ll definitely want cloves and cinnamon, but the sticks are recommended for many recipes too!

Spice cabinets can be full of surprises; there's no need to stress if you don't have a cinnamon stick because you can always substitute a teaspoon of cinnamon powder.

As for fruit, some recipes call for citrus peel, while others call for concentrated juice. With all of these ingredients, you are certain to find your own combination that pleases your taste buds.

The Best Mulled Wine Recipes

We’ve gathered some recipes for the holidays and any time to show how multi-faceted this drink can be. The first ingredient you need is a really good red wine .

As with any recipe, if you start with a better base ingredient, you will end up with a better-tasting cocktail. You can choose anything dry red , such as a Merlot. But if you choose a red blend wine , it already has an interesting taste profile.

How to Make Saucepan Mulled Wine

In this recipe, you can make a super-charged version of warmed spiced wine. All that's required is heating the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and once it has thoroughly mixed together serve at your leisure!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Peel your citrus fruits, retaining the peel in 3-inch strips.
  2. Combine the red wine, sugar, citrus peels, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in your saucepan. Let it simmer over medium heat and stir frequently. Make sure it isn’t boiling or burning.
  3. Once the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has been combined thoroughly, turn down the heat and keep an eye on it.
  4. After some time warming it, you can start pouring the drink into your mugs. Serve warm.

Here's a video showing how to make mulled wine using a saucepan. There are slight differences in ingredients between this recipe and what you'll find on the video, but they're easy enough tweaks for any experienced cook!

How to Make Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

This recipe uses a three-quart slow cooker to make mulled wine, so if you like your drinks hot and spicy, this one's for you! Plus, it only takes 4 to 5 hours to make.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Add the spices to a two-layer thick cheesecloth bag and place it in the bottom of a 3-quart slow cooker.
  2. Peel and slice apples into cubes. Put them into the slow cooker.
  3. Pour the wine into the cooker and add the lemon juice. Stir in your sugar.
  4. Turn on your slow cooker and let it cook for over 4 to 5 hours.

Here's a video showing how to make tasty mulled wine in a slow cooker with just apples, lemon juice, cinnamon, and spices . There are slight differences between the ingredients in our recipe than the ones used in this cooking tutorial, but they both will produce an amazing winter warmer!

How to Make Dutch Oven Mulled Wine

This recipe uses a variety of ingredients to bring your holiday table some zesty flair. It only takes about 30 minutes, but you will need allspice, salt, and water.

If you don’t like cloves, you might want to cut back. If you are expecting cinnamon, you can add more than this recipe suggests.

Ingredients

Watch this video to see how you can make mulled wine using a dutch oven! Please note that there are slight differences between the ingredients used in the clip and ours, but they're both delicious.

Directions

  1. Assemble all your ingredients and peel two oranges into thin strips. Set aside the slices for garnish.
  2. In a dutch oven, put in the fruit juice, water, and spices. Bring to a boil.
  3. While boiling, stir in sugar. Be careful not to let it burn and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the orange peels and whole pieces of spice.
  5. Start stirring the wine and heat it only until it's hot. Do not boil it. Keep it warm until ready to serve.

Conclusion

If the cold weather has got you down, a little red wine may be just what you need to warm up. As mentioned above, some mulled wine can be made by adding additional flavors and spices for different occasions or moods. You can even use various equipment when making this drink.

Maybe you want something more festive? Let us know in the comments below! We would love to hear your thoughts on which of these mulled wine recipes is your favorite.

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