The best mulled wines are made at home!

An essential accessory for Advent fairs and generally for winter city tours is mulled wine. It pleasantly warms up a person, and although its alcohol content remains (if made correctly), one cup won't hurt.

Practically, there's no Christmas hustle and bustle without large cauldrons or thermoses serving mulled wine. However, it's worth trying to make it at home too, as it feels good within four walls on a winter evening, and it's interesting to compare it with fair mulled wine if you haven't made it at home yet.

Mulled wine should only be made from quality wine!

Before we dive into Borindex's guaranteed mulled wine recipes, let's emphasize the most important point that can't be stressed enough: good mulled wine can only be made from quality wine!

Even in more experienced wine circles, you might sometimes hear statements like "it's good for cooking" or "we'll set it aside for mulled wine", which obviously refer to the wine's quality deficiencies. But just as you should cook only with quality ingredients and a good wine, you shouldn't choose a wine for mulled wine that you wouldn't otherwise consider drinking on its own.

Of course, as with spritzers, there are certain basics to consider when choosing a wine for mulled wine, which will only make our mulled wine better. But if you take a bottle off the shelf for the recipes below, one you'd happily drink on its own, you're already on the path to the best mulled wine you've ever tasted.

Is red the real deal for mulled wine?

When it comes to basic rules for mulled wine: many swear by reds, but this is really a matter of taste, although it's true that mulled wine made from red wine is a bit more classic, so let's start with that.

A good mulled wine needs a nice wine, spices, a bit of acidity, and of course sweet flavors to have our Christmas mood.

Wine: we recommend a dry, fruity, low-tannin wine, but a siller can also work very well in a red mulled wine. Portugieser, Blaufränkisch are very suitable in this theme, but we have also had memorable mulled wine from fresh Merlot. The key and password here really is low tannin content. The wine should be dry, then sweetened later; don't try to save on flavoring with a semi-sweet red wine, you'll end up badly. Depending on how complex you want your mulled wine to be in the end, you can dilute the wine with a few deciliters of water, but it's not mandatory.

Spices: there are several mulled wine spice mixes available today, we have already encountered quite good compositions, but if possible, avoid these too. For a bottle of red wine, throw into the pot 2 sticks of cinnamon (crushed), 2 thin slices of fresh ginger, 4-5 cloves, and 1 star anise.

Acids: lemon and orange, you must get one of them, but it's not bad if both are at hand. You don't need much of it, I think it's enough if you throw a whole orange and half a lemon, sliced, into the pot, but many people just pour in the juice. Both are good solutions.

Sweetening: can be omitted, if for some reason you do not want to consume sugar or honey, sometimes the juice of the orange is more than enough to help achieve the right taste experience. But if you're not afraid of sugar, then 2 tablespoons of it, or the same amount of honey, can go in.

Preparation: now that everything is in the pot, just heat it until you see the first tiny bubbles come up to the surface of the wine. Don't accidentally boil it, especially don't simmer it for long, as the goal is not to cook the alcohol out of your mulled wine. Heating it to 80°C is more than enough, then strain it and you can carefully start enjoying it.

Your Mulled Wine Will Be Great from White Wine Too!

If you don't like or can't handle red wine, you don't have to give up on mulled wine, as excellent mulled wine can be made from white wine with the right seasoning. We'll show you what to watch out for!

Wine: it's recommended to use a reductive, lighter variety that well and intensely reflects the fruits, but is not overpowering or too perfumed. Italian Riesling is perfect for this purpose, a great choice in taste, fragrance, and acidity if you plan to make mulled wine from white wine. The same principle applies here as with red wine: if you aim to prepare a lighter mulled wine, it can be diluted with a little water, or orange juice.

Spices: cinnamon and cloves are also essential here, star anise can be omitted, but what really elevates white mulled wine is a bit of apple. Peel it and slice half an apple into the brew, it will be great!

Acids: if we've already diluted it a bit with orange juice (really don't overdo it, a maximum of 2 deciliters will be enough), then the orange peel can also go in, it suits white mulled wine well. You can easily peel it off with a vegetable peeler, but be careful not to include the white part of the peel, as it can make the drink bitter.

Sweetening: not necessary, in our opinion, mulled wine made from good wine is a very good experience even without sweetening, but if you insist, then honey or vanilla sugar will be a good choice for this variation too.

Preparation: here too, you don't need to boil the ingredients in the pot for minutes. Because of the apple, it's worth maturing it on very low heat for 5-6 minutes, but make sure it doesn't boil, it's enough if it's just steaming. After 5 minutes, you can then heat it more strongly, but here too, only until the brew starts to show tiny bubbles.

Simple and Surely Better Than Fair Mulled Wine

Making mulled wine is this simple. Home-made mulled wine is delicious, made from quality wine and surprisingly cost-effective, so we encourage everyone to prepare your own at home instead of the expensive, sugary, overcooked, and questionable wine from fairs - you won't regret it!

If you've got a taste for mulled wine, and all you're missing is the wine, then head over to the Borindex Webshop, where you can order wine directly from the winemaker!