Mulled Wine
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This mulled wine recipe combines red wine, brandy, orange, and warm spices for a fragrant, festive drink that’s easy to make.
Mulled wine is made for cold-weather entertaining. Warm, fragrant, and easy to make by the batch, it’s especially nice for holiday parties and winter gatherings. This mulled wine recipe combines dry red wine with brandy, orange, honey, and warming spices, including cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and fresh ginger.
The key is to warm the wine gently rather than letting it boil, so the flavors of the wine, citrus, and spices stay balanced. The result is fragrant and warmly spiced without being overly sweet. You can also make it ahead and gently reheat it when you’re ready to serve.
What You’ll Need To Make Mulled Wine
- Dry red wine: Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, or Syrah all work well. There’s no need to splurge—an inexpensive, full-bodied wine is ideal since the spices will mellow its more delicate flavors. For a big batch, box wine works well, too.
- Orange: Adds fresh citrus flavor and brightness that balances the wine and warm spices.
- Brandy: Gives the mulled wine extra warmth and depth. Cognac, Armagnac, or Applejack all work, but there’s no need to use anything expensive.
- Honey and sugar: Sweeten and balance the wine and spices. Since wines vary in sweetness, taste the mulled wine at the end and add more if needed.
- Cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise: Give the wine its warm, aromatic spice. Stick with whole spices rather than ground so the finished drink stays clear and is easy to strain.
- Fresh ginger: Adds gentle heat and a fresh, slightly peppery note that complements the warmer spices.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Mulled Wine
Combine the ingredients: Add the wine, orange slices, brandy, honey, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, and ginger to a large saucepan.
Warm gently: Heat the mixture until it’s hot and gently simmering, but don’t let it boil. Keeping the heat low allows the spices and citrus to infuse the wine without cooking off too much of the alcohol or affecting the flavor.
Strain: Strain out the orange and spices, then taste and adjust the sweetness if needed.
Serve: Ladle into mugs or heatproof glasses and garnish with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, or star anise, if desired.
What To Serve with Mulled Wine
Mulled wine is lovely on its own, but for a gathering, spiced nuts and cheese are a nice savory contrast to the sweet, warming wine, while gingerbread and other spiced cookies echo the cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.
You May Also Like
Mulled Wine
Ingredients
- 1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine (Merlot, Zinfandel, or Cabernet work well)
- 1 orange, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup brandy
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6 whole cloves
- 2 whole star anise pods
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- Optional, for serving: orange slices, cinnamon, star anise pods
Instructions
- In a large nonreactive saucepan (see note), combine the wine, orange slices, brandy, honey, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise pods, and ginger.
- Set the pan over medium-low heat and warm gently for 15 to 20 minutes without letting the wine boil or bubble.
- Taste the mulled wine and add more honey or sugar if needed. You can also add a splash more brandy for extra warmth.
- Strain the mulled wine into a heatproof pitcher or directly into mugs, discarding the solids. Serve warm with optional garnishes.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I was looking for a mulled wine recipe that might taste like the one served at my favorite brasserie in Great Falls, VA, and most of the recipes I found had way too much sugar. Thankfully, Jenn’s version does not. I used an inexpensive cotes du rhone (assuming that the brasserie likely uses French wine), and the result was perfect. I cheated and used Penzey’s mulled spice blend instead of measuring each spice individually. No matter. The mulled wine was such a hit that we made it again on Christmas Day. Highly recommend.
I made this the last 2 nights for a change from the German Christmas market variety. Hands down perfection. I think the ginger is the key! I added 2 allspice berries in the 2nd batch. Many thanks!
Fantastic mulled win recipe Jenn, even better than the ones we tasted at the French Christmas markets!