Make mulled wine yourself – what you should pay attention to

Many wine merchants avoid the topic of mulled wine out of fear of being associated with the exploitation of wine. The snobby wine dealer is asked which of his carefully curated exceptional wines would be suitable as a basis for mulled wine. Oh scary! How can you even ask that? It's the ultimate insult: this wine is only suitable for mulled wine. Aren't there retailers who take revenge on producers they no longer like by putting their products in a basket with the note: €1.00 for mulled wine. Ha ha ha. Ha.

As you can see, mulled wine is a sensitive topic. The drink for cold winter days divides many opinions. That's why we'll now tell you how to make your own mulled wine and what you should keep in mind.

Why is mulled wine made?

With mulled wine you can experience a special seasonal atmosphere on cold days. The hot drink made from wine, fruit and spices ensures a pleasant mood, and not just at the Christmas market.

It is important: The drink should not be used to use up postponed red wine. Because wine is a food - and no food is made from spoiled food. As a rule of thumb, you can use Coq au Vin as a guide. The following applies here: The red wine in your meal should be at least as good as the wine you drink with it.

Our tips: How can you make mulled wine yourself?

As with everything that is supposed to be good, it depends on your inner attitude. Do you want to make the tastiest mulled wine ever? The best tip we can give you for a delicious mulled wine is: make it yourself. Our recipe for success for homemade mulled wine is: it's all about the right wine! So take a decent dry red wine. Or a dry white wine if you like white mulled wine better. Leave the mulled wine spice mixture lying around. Some people use brown sugar, but sugar makes you feel full. Instead, use fresh, organic citrus fruits and spices that suit the cold season for your mulled wine recipe:

• Grains of Paradise
• licorice
• Ginger (fresh!)
• Star anise
• cloves
• Cinnamon (e.g. Ceylon cinnamon)
• cranberries

Of course, you can vary the spices for your mulled wine recipe to suit your taste. Tie all ingredients in a piece of kitchen towel. Put the cloth and the bottle of red wine in a large pot and heat everything over medium heat to around 50 degrees Celsius. But be careful: the drink should not boil! Shortly before the boiling point, you can remove the pot from the heat and serve the delicious mulled wine hot in cups.

At what temperature does alcohol evaporate from wine?

By definition, mulled wine is an alcoholic drink. When the wine is boiled, the alcohol escapes from temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius . The delicate fruit flavors that it contains depending on the recipe can also escape if the temperature is too high. Therefore, when preparing it, it is important that you only heat the drink to just before the boiling point. Then you reduce the temperature of the pot.