Mulled wine

Mulled wine is a flavored wine-based drink made from red or white wine, spiced primarily with cinnamon and cloves, sweetened as needed, and containing 7 to 14.5 percent alcohol by volume.

Ingos Glühweingewürz vom Alten Gewürzamt

Mulled wine (Glühwein) is an aromatized wine-based beverage made from red or white wine, seasoned primarily with cinnamon and cloves, sweetened as needed, and containing 7 to 14.5 percent alcohol by volume.

What exactly is mulled wine?

Regulation (EU) No. 251/2014 categorizes it as an aromatized wine-based beverage, which specifies what may be included: wine, sweeteners, and spices. Seasoning consists mainly of cinnamon, cloves, or both; other aromas may be used but must remain secondary. Sweetening is permitted, but watering down is not. Adding further alcohol is also prohibited, and this is more than just a legal technicality: anyone who adds rum, liqueur, or juice to the pot is legally no longer making mulled wine, but rather punch.

The same strictness applies to the names on the label, which helps during shopping. The term "mulled wine" (Glühwein) is reserved for wine; if fruit wine is used instead of red or white wine, the result is called fruit and berry mulled wine or carries the name of the fruit, such as cherry mulled wine. Alcohol-free wine with mulled wine spices cannot be called alcohol-free mulled wine, but rather an aromatized beverage made from alcohol-free red wine. Conversely, if "winemaker's mulled wine" (Winzerglühwein) appears on the label, the underlying wine comes from the producer's own estate; "German mulled wine" (Deutscher Glühwein) means that the base products come entirely from Germany. And if it is made from white wine, the word "white" must appear in the name.

What kind of alcohol is in mulled wine?

Ethanol, and it comes exclusively from the wine. Adding alcohol is prohibited, so the bottle contains exactly what the grapes provided: at least 7 and at most 14.5 percent alcohol by volume in the finished drink.

This makes the base wine almost everything. A dry to semi-dry, fruit-forward, and robust wine is suitable for red mulled wine, such as a Dornfelder, a Pinot Noir, or a Merlot; for white, a fine-tart, fruity Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, or Chardonnay works well. A good base wine only needs moderate sugar because it does not inherently have an acidic or bitter note that needs to be masked. The less the sugar has to do, the more of the wine remains in the mug.

What is in mulled wine?

Wine, sweeteners, spices – the law permits nothing more. The idea is old: the Apicius cookbook contains a spiced wine with cinnamon, bay leaf, star anise, and plenty of honey, which was intended to make the wine tastier and longer-lasting.

In the pot, every spice has its role. The clove is the loudest element: it smells sweet and tastes strong and burning. Star anise provides an underlying sweetness, and its aroma is familiar from anise and fennel. Orange peel smells sweet and tastes bitter, and this bitterness sets a limit on the sweetness. Other common additions include cardamom, ginger, vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, and juniper berries, plus orange slices, apple pieces, or raisins; sweetening is done with sugar, honey, or agave syrup.

In a blend, the order of ingredients reveals what a house values. The Red Mulled Wine Spice from Pfeffersack und Soehne lists Ceylon cinnamon first, not the more common Cassia. Ceylon cinnamon has the more delicate aroma, tasting sweet and barely bitter: a decision you can taste in the mug.

Since December 8, 2023, the mulled wine bottle must also carry an ingredient list. Read it from the top. If wine is listed first, it is the main component – in The ugly Glühwein rot, it is 74.87 percent red wine, followed by 7.81 percent sugar, then orange aroma, cinnamon, cloves, and anise. If a list only mentions a "spice blend" and no individual spices, there are no rules regarding what it contains. Some of the information may also be hidden behind a QR code, which makes comparing two bottles in the store laborious.

Why the pot must never boil

Mulled wine handles heat poorly. If it is heated too strongly, the alcohol evaporates, the spice notes become unrecognizable, and cooking notes or harsh, burnt tones take their place. So keep it slow, brief, and never above 70 degrees Celsius.

Stir a heaping tablespoon of Ingo's Mulled Wine Spice into one liter of dry red wine, Riesling, or apple wine. Slowly heat the pot to about 70 degrees and do not let it boil; if the first bubble rises, it is too late. Cover it and let the spice steep for 20 to 30 minutes. If the result is too subtle for you, give it more time instead of more spice. Then pour the mulled wine through a fine sieve into prewarmed glasses and only then season it with a little honey, if it needs it at all.

The pot itself matters. Stainless steel and enamel are made for food contact; substances from copper, aluminum, iron, or brass can leach into the mulled wine. At the stand, one look at the mug is enough: if the mulled wine is already rust-red or brown, it sat hot for a long time, and oxidation has done its work.

Whole spices last longer than ground ones, and the reason lies in the plant. The essential oil is trapped in the cells; when ground, they break open, and the oil escapes. Cinnamon sticks and cardamom remain flavorful for up to four years, cloves and anise up to five, while crushed goods lose their potency after just a few months. Keep the container cool, dry, and dark, well-sealed and not over the stove, where heat and odors can affect it.

In the end, you hold a mug in your hand, steam rises, and it smells of cloves and orange. Beside it, a plate of gingerbread, a second mug, and someone who is still staying.

What we put in the mulled wine pot

There are several paths into the pot from our assortment. Two blends for your own wine: Ingo's Mulled Wine Spice from Altes Gewürzamt, where rosehip peel leads the ingredient list, and the Red Mulled Wine Spice from Pfeffersack und Soehne in a ceramic jar. The Mulled Wine Syrup from Schusters Shrub is not a mulled wine in the sense of the regulation, but a spiced syrup made of water, raw cane sugar, cinnamon, clove, star anise, and citrus peels, which you add to the wine. The Mulled Wine Herb Elixir from Dr. Jaglas is a spiced liqueur with 28 percent alcohol by volume made from bitter orange peel, clove, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon bark, walnut shell, and vanilla; a measure of it goes into hot cocoa or on red cabbage for goose. Those who don't want to spice it themselves can take The ugly Glühwein rot from the bottle; everything can be found together under Mulled Wine and Punch.

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