Simply Delicious Mulled Wine

Quite possibly, my favourite drink during autumn and winter, has to be mulled wine. There’s something incredibly nostalgic about a cup of deliciously warm, delicately spiced and citrus-imbued, mulled wine. And sitting around an open fire, toasting marshmallows, gathering with friends and family, with a glass of mulled wine in hand; that’s autumn/winter for me.

Of course autumn/winter is synonymous with fresh citrus, and lately I’ve been craving everything orange flavoured. Like my favourite cocktail, Campari & Orange, that I posted about recently. Hence why I’ve kept this mulled wine simple using just oranges.

What makes this recipe so easy and delicious is you only need a handful of ingredients, and they are all fresh. I find this makes all the difference. You could of course used ground spices, but I don’t think it’s quite as good. So opt for fresh, if you can.

Mulled Wine Recipe
Mulled Wine
Mulled Wine
Mulled Wine
Simply Delicious Mulled Wine - Cottonwood - Nicki Dobrzynski
Mulled Wine by outdoor fire
Mulled Wine

MULLED WINE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 bottle of red wine (I use a favourite & inexpensive clean skin Shiraz)
  • 2 oranges (like Valencia, Navel or Blood Orange)
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 2-3 star anise

METHOD

  1. Peel large sections of rind from 1 orange.
  2. Thickly slice up the second orange, then halve or quarter the slices.
  3. Place the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and juice of the orange you took the rind from.
  4. Now add just enough red wine to cover the sugar, along with the cinnamon sticks and star anise, to the saucepan.
  5. Let this mixture simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring to the boil. Keep on a steady boil for a few minutes – until you’ve got a lovely thick syrup. By creating a hot syrup base first, you won’t burn off the alcohol in the red wine. A great tip I learned from Jamie Oliver!
  6. After a few minutes, add in the fresh orange slices, then turn the heat down to low and add the rest of the red wine. Gently heat the wine for about 4-5 minutes then ladle into heat proof glasses with a slice of orange or rind in each. Enjoy!

Two other mulled wine recipes I’m going to try are Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten – both these are very different and require a few more ingredients, and I’m keen to see how those taste in comparison.

So, are you a fan of mulled wine in winter, or is it not really your thing? If not, I’d love to know what your preferred drink is during the cooler months.

Nicki xo

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