Get your liquid glow – how to make the best mulled wine

Spices, sweetness and sumptuous Shiraz, warmed and combined into delicious mulled wine. If you want to stay cosy over winter, here’s how to make mulled wine the easy way.

There’s nothing quite like the rich aromas and heady flavours from a warm cup of mulled wine. And it’s not a new thing.

We’ve been adding spices and heat to wine has been a thing for centuries. The Ancient Greeks did it, the Romans copied them and also wrote it down, and there are still versions of mulled wine throughout Europe and as far away as Chile.

At its essence, mulled wine is warmed (but not boiled) red wine with spices like star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamon and fennel, and citrus fruit – usually orange or lemon.

But different variations around the globe – whether it’s the Swedish glögg, German glühwein or Chilean candola – add different spices and fruit, and even a range of different liquors too.

It’s really up to you which style you want, though there are some important things to bear in mind when you make your mulled wine.

By the way, if you love our fire pit on our balcony as much as we do, we’ve got a post on how to make your own tabletop fire pit right here.

Important things to bear in mind with mulled wine

1. Use an affordable bottle of wine. There’s no need to dig too deep into your cellar or your pockets for this.
2. Use a low-tannin, full-bodied wine. Cabernet Sauvignon will probably be too tannic and bitter; at the same time, a Pinot Noir will be too light. You’re looking for a jammy, rich wine like a young shiraz.
3. Don’t boil the wine. You (probably) want some alcohol left in your mulled wine, but if you boil it too long, the booze will evaporate.
Simmering at about 60dC will do the trick to extract the flavours from the spices and warm up the wine enough.

But if this all sounds a bit precarious and like too much work, go find bottles of Jam Shed Shiraz in your local bottleshop.

For a limited time over the winter, Jam Shed are including a ‘teabag’ of spices and a recipe for mulled wine with every bottle of Jam Shed Shiraz and Red Blend. It even comes with a Jam Shed jam jar glass.

Find this offer at participating bottleshops for a limited time for $13.00RRP – that includes the spice bag, glassware and bottle of wine.

Jam Shed’s actually the perfect choice for mulled wine. It’s an affordable bottle, it’s rich and full bodied, and – as its name suggests – it’s fruit forward with a good level of sweetness.

But let’s cut to it – here’s the recipe for mulled wine if you can’t get your hands on one of Jam Shed’s special bottles.

Mulled wine recipe

Serves 3-4 – makes about 750ml

Here’s what you need

– 1 bottle of 750ml Jam Shed Shiraz or similar
– 2 whole cinnamon sticks
– 3 star anise
– 4 whole cloves
– 10g fresh ginger
– 1tsp fennel seeds
– 2 cardamon pods
– 1 orange – sliced

Optional extras:

– 1/2 cup brandy, rum or port
– 1/4 cup brown sugar, honey or maple syrup

Here’s what you do

1. Heat all ingredients in a saucepan until gently simmering (not boiling) – about 60dC.
2. Remove from heat, cover and leave to steep for about 15 minutes – or longer if you want a stronger spice flavour.
3. Strain mulled wine into mugs and garnish with an orange slice and a star anise. You can retain the other spices to reuse if anyone wants a bit more.

There are literally hundreds of variations and alternatives for mulled wine recipes out there. It’s really a case of working out which one is your favourite.

The most important thing is that it tastes great, warms you up and brings a smile to all who sip it.

Do you have a favourite ingredient or method for making mulled wine? Tell us all about it!