Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (2024)

When the mulled wine appears, the holidays are officially here!

Guaranteed to warm you from the inside out, this mulled wine recipe is the real deal made with a robust red wine, warm spices, and just the right touch of sweetness!

A cozy mug of this sweet and spicy Christmas drink is the perfect way to enjoy holiday cheer!

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What is Mulled Wine?

  • Mulled wine has quite a history! As far back as the 2nd century, the Romans heated wine to ward off the chill. As the recipe spread across Europe, it evolved into a popular hot beverage offered all throughout the holidays.
  • This drink is known by many other names around the globe like glögg in Germany.
  • Just like apple cider, mulled wine is a classic warm holiday drink for parties and potlucks! Put everything in one pot and heat, how easy is that?
  • Busy holidays need easy recipes, especially if company’s coming. Our guests welcome a soothing cup of mulled wine after a busy day of holiday prep!
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Best Wine to Use

Mulled wine is known for its simmered combination of rich red wine, a light sweetener, and then the perfect touch of savory spices and citrus.

WINE The best wines for mulling wine are red wines that are ‘heavy’ with full-bodied flavor and notes of cherry, berries, oak, or vanilla. It’s okay to buy bargain wines and even to mix leftover wines together! Try a malbec, cabernet sauvignon, or grenache.

For an even headier version of mulled wine, a ¼ cup of brandy, bourbon, cognac, or your favorite liqueur will make an even more festive beverage!

SWEETENER Honey is the traditional sweetener for mulled wine because it dissolves easily and lightly sweetens without making the beverage thick and syrupy. However, it’s okay to whisk in maple syrup, brown sugar, agave, or sugar-free monk fruit syrup.

MULLING SPICES Short on time? Mulling spices are sold in small, muslin bags that can be tossed in heated wine or cider, but it’s easy to DIY! The best mulled wine spices include a combination of sweet, spicy, and savory spices.

Use whole spices including cloves, cinnamon sticks, and allspice berries (if you can find them). Optional additions include star anise, cardamom pods, or peppercorns.

GARNISH Mulled wine is made all the more festive by its colorful garnishes! Strips or slices of thinly sliced oranges, or wedges of tangerines, sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme, cinnamon sticks, and fresh cranberries.

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How to Make Mulled Wine

  1. Combine all ingredients except garnishes.
  2. Heat on the stove but do not simmer.
  3. Ladle into mugs & garnish.

PRO TIP:Take care to only heat (not boil) so the alcohol doesn’t boil out making the wine thick and syrupy!

How to Serve Mulled Wine

  • Ladle from the pot into mugs.
  • Keep it warm in a slow cooker and let guests help themselves.
  • Keep small bowls of cinnamon sticks, rosemary sprigs, and candied orange peels close by so guests can garnish their own mugs of mulled wine!
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Warm up the Holidays!

  • Irish Coffee – creamy coffee with a spike
  • Homemade Eggnog Recipe
  • Cozy Hot Toddy Recipe – perfect on a cold day
  • Cranberry Moscow Mule
  • Spiked Eggnog Latte – only 4 easy ingredients
  • Homemade Hot Chocolate – a kid favorite

More Cozy Holiday Drinks

Homemade Eggnog Recipe

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Cranberry Moscow Mule

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Homemade Hot Chocolate

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Copycat Baileys Recipe (Homemade Irish Cream)

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Cozy Hot Toddy Recipe

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Snickerdoodle co*cktail (with RumChata)

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Did you make this Mulled Wine? Leave us a rating and a comment below!

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Mulled Wine

Sweet, savory, and served warm from the stovetop, this Mulled Wine is a perfect way to celebrate the holidays!

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ReviewPrint

Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (13)

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (14)

Servings 5 servings

Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (15)

Author Holly Nilsson

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 750 ml red wine any wine you'd like
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 allspice berries optional
  • 1 orange sliced
  • ¼ cup honey more or less to taste
  • cranberries for garnish
  • candied orange slices for garnish
  • rosemary sprig for garnish

Instructions

  • Combine wine and spices in a medium saucepan.

  • Add orange slices and honey and heat over low heat for 20 minutes. Do not simmer.

  • To serve, place the mulled wine in mugs and garnish as desired. We add cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary or a cinnamon stick.

Notes

Wine for Mulled Wine

Choose a full-bodied red wine or red wine blend that has rich spice and berry notes for the best results. Merlot, cabernet, red zinfandel, or red blend are all great options.

Optional Additions

Brandy is an optional addition, I recommend ¼ cup or so per 750ml bottle of wine. You can also try bourbon, cognac, or your favorite liqueur.

Apple Cideris another great addition and will make this a bit lighter on alcohol and will also stretch the bottle of wine to serve a crowd. (Be sure to use apple cider and not apple cider vinegar). Add between 2-4 cups.

More Notes

Do not skip the sweetener, it is needed to balance this recipe. You can substitute brown sugar or a sweetener of your choice.

Do not let the wine come to a boil or the alcohol will evaporate or the wine will reduce too much.

5 from 10 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 5oz | Calories: 185 | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 211mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (17) Course Beverage, Drink, Drinks

Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (18) Cuisine American

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

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Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (20)
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Beverages, Christmas, Recipes

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Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
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Easy Mulled Wine Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the best wine for mulled wine? ›

The best red wine to use for mulled wine is Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha (also called Grenache). These wines are dark, fruity and full bodied, which means they can support all of the flavors we'll be adding. Look for labels that describe the wine as “jammy” or with “notes of vanilla.”

How do you keep the alcohol content in mulled wine? ›

However, mulled wine does not include cucumber or candied cherries. The heat used in mulling encourages greater flavours from the citrus and the spices but also reduces the alcohol content, hence the common addition of a slug of spirit or liqueur just before serving.

How to make homemade wine? ›

Thoroughly mash fruit, add four crushed Campden tablets, cover with cheesecloth and allow container to stand four hours at room temperature. Add 10 cups sugar syrup, lemon juice, tea and yeast and allow seven days to ferment at a temperature between 60-70º F, stirring thoroughly twice daily.

How much mulling spice for a bottle of wine? ›

Mulling Spices

Each recommended using about a tablespoon of mulling spice per 750 ml bottle of wine, which I toasted briefly in a skillet before adding to the wine.

What is the best cheap wine for mulled wine? ›

I recommend looking for a bottle of Zinfandel, Merlot, Grenache, Brandy: Similar to sangria, it's also traditional to spike your mulled wine with an extra bit of liqueur. Brandy is the traditional choice, but Cointreau (or another orange liqueur) or tawny port are also delicious alternatives.

Which supermarket has the best mulled wine? ›

THE VERDICT
  • Best overall. M&S red mulled wine. £6.00. ABV - 11% ...
  • Runner up. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference mulled wine. £5.50. ABV - 11% ...
  • Best budget. Aldi Mulled Wine. £2.39. ABV - 5% ...
  • Best non-alcoholic. Lidl non-alcoholic mulled wine. £1.99. ABV - 0% ...
  • Worst overall. Morrisons Best mulled wine. £4.50. ABV - 9%
Dec 19, 2023

Does mulling wine burn off the alcohol? ›

Does the alcohol cook out when making mulled wine? In short, yes, some of the alcohol burns off when boiling mulled wine, but you should only be gently bringing up to the boil and simmering for around 15-30 minutes which isn't enough time to completely remove all alcohol traces.

How long should you heat mulled wine? ›

Method. Put the red wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, lemon zest and sugar in a large pan. Cook on a low heat for 10 mins. Remove from the heat and cool, leaving to infuse for about 30 mins.

Why does my mulled wine taste bad? ›

You need to infuse the wine long enough with the spices to take on their flavour but DON'T ON ANY ACCOUNT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL as you'll be left with a bitter taste. Slow and low is the way to go. And it shouldn't be served piping hot, just comfortably - and comfortingly - warm.

What is the cheapest way to make your own wine? ›

The cheapest method is to add a juice/sugar source to provide nutrients for the yeast's fermentation metabolic system. To make 1 gallon of homemade wine, you will need to purchase 2 cans of frozen juice concentrate from the grocery store. Red Grape Juice – This is by far the most successful juice I have tried.

Which yeast is best for wine? ›

The most common yeast associated with winemaking is Saccharomyces cerevisiae which has been favored due to its predictable and vigorous fermentation capabilities, tolerance of relatively high levels of alcohol and sulfur dioxide as well as its ability to thrive in normal wine pH between 2.8 and 4.

Can you use cheap wine for mulled wine? ›

If you wouldn't drink the wine on its own, then you shouldn't use it for any of the above methods. But absolutely feel free to use a “cheap” wine if you enjoy the way it tastes.

How do you keep the alcohol in mulled wine? ›

How to prepare mulled wine without losing the alcohol - Quora. First, you just want to heat it up enough to have the spices integrate with the flavor of the wine so keep it on low whether you are using the stove or a crockpot. Second, use the lid.

How long does homemade mulled wine last? ›

Then let the mulled wine cool at room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container, and store it in the fridge — it will keep well there for up to three days.

Is Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon better for mulled wine? ›

As wine forms the base for the mulled wine, you do want to be careful with your selection. A bottle of Levant Shiraz makes the perfect base - we don't recommend Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon is too high in tannin, and Pinot Noir is too light to carry the spices.

Can you use regular wine for mulled wine? ›

Red wines are traditionally used to make mulled wine, and while any red wine can work, sweet reds will give you a nice, sweet base, meaning less sugar added in later. If you use a dry red, keep in mind you may need to add more sugar than a recipe calls for.

What is the best wine to drink when its hot? ›

Beat the Heat: The Best Wine to Drink in Warm Weather
  • Dry Rosé
  • Pinot Noir.
  • Pinot Grigio.
  • Riesling.
  • Albariño.
  • We Send You the Steak, You Grab the Wine! Related posts:

Is Pinot Grigio good for mulled wine? ›

When the winter winds blow, stir up a batch co*cktail to share that's as warm as it's comforting! Aromatic spices, citrus and sweet honey complement the flavors of pinot grigio in a way that's sure to chase away the cold.

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