The making of mulled wine has long been associated with Christmas. The warmth of the wine, combined with the citrus and spices creates a soothing comforting drink perfect for the winter months. Mulled wine has become a drink to be enjoyed amongst friends and family throughout the festive period, adding a little more festive cheer in the process. So what are the secrets to preparing a good mulled wine?
What is Mulling?
This is the process through which herbs and spices are introduced to a wine, so that when it is heated up there is a release of specific aromas. Long before the days of refrigeration, an open bottle of wine would start to oxidise losing its flavor. Through the process of mulling this open bottle of wine could be given new life making it palatable and once again enjoyable. Through adding spices a little bit of honey, this open bottle of wine may actually taste better than would before mulling.
Choosing your Red Wine
Red wine is plentiful everywhere today. Therefore, consumers do not need to wait to uncork a bottle and have it sit for while before a decision is made to put it through the modeling process.
One of the key secrets to completing a successful mulling of wine to make sure that all the ingredients have plenty of time to mix and mingle with the wine. There are number of different herbs and spices that can be added to the wine and many of these are selected based on ethnic traditions and origination. For example, in Germany mulling include the use of cinnamon sticks, vanilla pods, cloves, sugar and various citrus fruits.
When heating the wine, it is imperative that you never allow it to boil. If it does come to a boil you will lose the alcohol and take upon a cooked like type of flavor. Keep in mind that the alcohol in wine has a lower boiling point. Follow this following recipe and you will be the envy and talk a all your friends and relatives when providing discomforting drink during holiday time
Ingredients
•Bottle of red wine
•2 oz Demerara sugar
•Cinnamon stick
•Grated nutmeg
•One halved orange
•Dried bay leaf
Directions
1. Place the wine, spices, bay leaf and orange in a 2 quart saucepan
2. Stir all these ingredients and then carefully placed them in a muslin bag to marinate for a few hours
3. Once marinated, return the ingredients to saucepan. Add the sugar and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. Taste the wine for sweetness adding extra sugar according to desire.
4. Use a thermometer and keep the temperature around 60°C or 140°F. Make sure it does not come to a boil
5. Once the mixture has heated properly, serve immediately by pouring it into heatproof glasses
What s in a Name
Mulled wine is known by many different names worldwide including Glühwein (glowing wine) in Germany, vin chaud (hot wine) in France, Glögg (heated) in Scandanavia and vin brulé (burnt wine) in Italy.
Around the holiday times when friends and relatives visit, offer them the comforting glow of sipping the specially prepared mulled win you prepared with loving care.
Author Resource:
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For wine merchants & importers, he recommends Alexander Hadleigh, a leading supplier of some of the worlds finest wines: http://www.ahadleigh-wine.com/
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