Vin Chaud.

The first official mention of mulled wine is in Homer’s Odyssey. The Greek goddess of Magic, Circe, uses a blend of spices and wine to turn Odysseus’ crew into ‘swine’. Sounds like a good day, huh? From there, the now quintessential holiday beverage, spread from country to country and underwent many regional transformations and translations, evolving and growing with times and cultures, accidental additions and farmhouse substations. Three cultures in particular have embraced and adopted the beverage throughout the past few centuries.

Germany: Feuerzangenbowle

This dramatic take on mulled wine includes a bottle of dry red wine, traditional mulling spices and adds a little bit of heat. Skewering a rum soaked sugar cube and balancing it over each glass, you then light the sugar on fire and let it drip into your wine concoction.

Portugal: Vinho Quente

Portugal has a somewhat sweeter take. Starting with a bottle of red wine, (most likely Portuguese) add your cinnamon, clove, orange and fresh ginger. It is then fortified with a third cup of dessert wine such as Port or Madeira

France: Vin Chaud (our favorite)

One of the few instances of an adopted mulled white wine. While lighter on the spices, this sophisticated (duh, French) style is just as warming. A bottle of Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc and simply add lemon and a fortified fruit wine. Voila!

Contemporary interpretation of mulled wine emerged during the Victorian era in England. Annotated in the 1843 Charles Dickens novel ‘A Christmas Carol”. Victorian England used the method to save spoiled or underwhelming wine or weak vintages.

Mulled wine has become a winter standard for many cultures and families so you should not be asking yourself will or should you encounter this charming and warming beverage during your holiday escapades but rather when will it grace your presence.

If you peruse the internet for mulled wine recipes and tricks, most notably all call for a ‘cheap wine’. We think this is a mistake. While we do not expect to dump a $45 bottle of Petite Syrah into the mix we commit to the old adage that good ingredients yield good results. For red mulled wine, gravitate to your warm climate reds –they tend to have bigger and bolder more full-bodied flavors (Malbec). Also, try to use red wines with higher alcohol that are richer in tannins as both tend to boil off through the process. Lastly, whether making red or white mulled wine remember three words –low and slow; do not overheat the wine or risk scorching the wine or charming  additions. This is why we always suggest a crock pot over making mulled wine on the stove or worse yet, microwave (we’ve seen it done before…)

Below are two of our tried and true, entry level – crowd pleasing recipes to kick off your holiday party or quiet movie night at home.

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White Mulled Wine Recipe

For this variation on French mulled wine (our favorite, remember?), we found that the key to a white mulled wine is keeping it restrained. Use a fuller, slightly sweeter style of wine so the added spice does not overpower the nuances of the wine entirely.

-1 bottle of medium white wine, aromatic and fruit forward. We suggest ‘Clean Slate Riesling’

-4 stripes of lemon peel, no pith please

-6 cloves

-1/2 cinnamon stick

Always an option to add ¼ to ½ cup of your favorite lighter liquor –we suggest cognac (keep it French)

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Red Mulled Wine Recipe

Traditional take on mulled wine. Process is the same –low and steady heat and wait, just wait. Red wine are capable of steeping a bit longer thanks to their fuller style, body and complexity. We will make a small batch of red mulled wine to make our kitchen and home smell like the holidays.

-1 bottle of full bodied red wine. We suggest ‘Guenoc Petite Sirah’

-5 orange peels, sans pith

-6 cloves

-1 cinnamon stick

-3 whole star anise

-3 slices of fresh ginger root

Again, always an option to add ¼ to ½ cup of a fortified spirit or liquor.

We suggest brandy here.

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Date & Dinner ideas for Mulled wine include Brie, smoked salmon, a full-bodied charcuterie plate, a giant platter of Holiday sugar cookies and the French Chef’s arme secrete – a deliciously cheezy and boozy fondue.

Tried and true recipe:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cheese-fondue-with-beer-and-bourbon

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Clean Slate Riesling

$10

Germany

http://cleanslatewine.com/

Crisp Peach. Apricot. Subtle Earthy and Spicy Notes at nose. Smooth finish.

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Guenoc Petite Sirah

$11

California

https://www.guenoc.com/

Blueberry. Red Raspberry. Blackberry

Hints of Clove and Cinnamon