mulled wine with spices

We find mulled wine and grog on our Christmas markets, ideal to fight the cold, it is inevitable in winter in the mountains. We love it for its comforting scent of cinnamon, anise and orange.

INGREDIENTS

Version 1:

• 1L of red wine
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise (star anise)
• 5 green cardamoms
• 5 allspice peppercorns (if you don't have any, substitute 5 cloves )
• 5 red peppercorns
• 1 piece of ginger of 2cm
• The zest of half an orange

Version 2:

• 1L of red wine
• 4 tbsp. c. of our mulled wine mix (we have already assembled the spices for you ;))

Option: for even more sweetness, add a Comoros vanilla pod split in half.

RECIPE STEPS

1. With a small knife, split the Comoros vanilla pod in half, scrape the inside in one motion and put everything in a thick-bottomed saucepan.
2. Add the wine and heat gently with the cinnamon, star anise, green cardamom and allspice. Be careful not to boil the wine.
3. Meanwhile, peel the piece of ginger and your orange using a small knife. Take care to take only the zest, with as little white as possible to avoid excess bitterness.
4. Then add the ginger and orange zest to the wine.
5. Stir occasionally and turn off the heat before boiling.

Your mulled wine is ready to be served!

If you're saving it for later, remember to remove the spices before they take up too much space in your drink.

Which wine to choose?

Preferably a young wine, rather fruity, greedy but with enough power to respond to the spices. Go for a Côtes-du-Rhône, a Languedoc or a Bordeaux Supérieur. Be careful to heat your wine but do not boil it.