Mulled Wine Will Keep You Warm All Winter!

Aaaah....mulled wine. The sound of it conjurors up images of sitting by a roaring fire on a cold winter's day or night, staring out at the new fallen snow or curled up with a good book. Perhaps, that is because this is the traditional a winter drink associated with Christmas in many countries.

Here are a couple of recipes from our reader's:

Japanese mulled vino

Mulled vino

But, just what is it about this wine that conjurs up these thoughts every time, and why do people seem to like it so much.

Surprisingly enough mulled wine is simply wine, usually red, dilluted with water and blended with spices and warmed. The recipes for this drink vary from country to country, state to state, region to region and even household to household.

Despite the thousands of variations for mulled vino that can be found most recipes contain at least these four standard ingredients mixed in the wine. These ingredients are cinnamon sticks, vanilla pod, citrus and sugar.

One of the easiest ways to enjoy this wine, is to let it simmer in your crockpot. It's so nice to come home to such a rich spicey aroma. Throw all the ingredients in and turn on low for when you get home. It's a nice way to end your day.

Other ingredients that various recipes add are mace, ginger, nutmeg, bay leaves and in some cases people replace the citrus with apple juice.

There are of course other spices used in other adaptations of this drink but, these are the most popular used. Sometimes stronger alcoholic spirits are used in the wine and in some cases egg is added to give the drink more body.

As one would expect mulled wine which is the English term has many names depending on the country where you are drinking it. In Germany, mulled wines dates back to the early 1400s. Here this warm wine is called Gluhwein and raisins and almonds are often added to spices in the wine. I

n Poland, it is called grzane wino (heated wine), in Romania it is called Vinfiert (boiled wine) and in Italy it is known as vin brul (brunt wine)

Scandinavian countries also have their version of this wine known as glogg although interesting enough glogg may be prepared with fruit juices rather than wine.

While no one knows for sure exactly where the idea began, most people believe that the it originated as a way of saving wine that had gone bad and making it once again palatable. It was also a way for people to make cheap red wine more tasty when they could not afford the better wines available to those who had money. Regardless of where or why it originated the idea of wine prepared this way in some form is drunk around the globe in almost every country. Today anyone wanting to make mulled wine can make it from scratch using any of the various recipes that abound.

Or by concocting their own recipe or by purchasing the wine and mull packets which are spices that are designed like teabags and heated in the wine to bring out the flavor of the spices. Keep in mind that you might want to experiment a little to get just the right blend of spices that you enjoy to perfection.

While it is considered mainly a winter beverage more and more people are enjoying this drink at holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving instead of spiced apple cider.

It is also a great drink to offer at winter weddings and just to enjoy on the cold winter night sitting in front of a roaring fire staring out at the snow or when reading a good book. Anytime is a good time for wine.

Cheers

red wine

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