Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, the world continuing past Friday, or not having any more final exams, I’ve got something that will warm you up and put you in excellent spirits: mulled wine!
Usually when I talk about mulled wine, which I have been doing pretty frequently over the past month, I am met with a puzzled response. “Mold wine? What?”
My initial response was not so different. I was first introduced to this delicious winter drink while studying abroad in Paris, where they call it vin chaud (hot wine). My Polish friend texted me early in the day saying, “lets mull wine 2nite at your place.” So as not to appear uncultured, I quickly googled mulled wine and ran to the store for the ingredients so that it would be casually mulling when she got to my apartment. My apartment was about ten by fifteen feet and soon after I threw the ingredients into the pot and flipped on the stove, that small space was flooded with an intoxicating aroma of cloves, cinnamon and wine. Yet there is a certain romance that permeates through everything in Paris and I worried that recreating this recipe without mansard roofs surrounding wouldn’t have the same effect.
Fortunately, when I recreated this recipe this year, it all came rushing back: the warmth, the happiness of ladling wine out to good friends, the impossibly sensual aroma.
So this winter, gather your friends and protect yourself from the frigid wind outside with a pot full of hot liquor.
Mulled Wine:
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- a handful of cloves
- a handful of star anise
- 1.5 liter bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz (as cheap as you like, it doesn’t particularly matter after you mull it)
- a few generous splashes of brandy
- two oranges
- 2 T sugar
Peel the oranges with a potato peeler and toss with sugar. Let sit while you prepare the wine.
In a large pot pour the wine and brandy. Throw in the spices and the orange peels. Squeeze both oranges into the pot.
Heat mixture until you see some steam and it begins to emit a strong, pleasant aroma.
Ladle into mugs and enjoy!
Samantha Mitchell