Mulled wine has got to be one of the most delicious ways of serving up your usual cheeky glass of red. Laden with spices and fruit, mulled wine brings out the natural sweetness of the alcoholic drink and gives it an extra sparkle of flavor. On a chilly night, curling up with a warm glass is the perfect tonic to winter blues.
History of Mulled Wine Day
It’s unclear exactly when mulled wine started to make an appearance on our dinner tables and in our bars, but the first recorded spiced wine is said to have been made in Rome around the 2nd century. And as the Romans progressed across Europe, they took their recipes with them – so it might be that we have them to thank for the popular drink.
The first mention of mulled wine in a cookbook is found in The Forme of Cury, a medieval cookery book from England which has been dated to as far back as 1390. The recipe calls for red wine and sugar mixed up with ground cinnamon, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, cardamon and cloves among other spices.
The drink is especially popular in the United Kingdom, where is drunk most frequently around the winter months when the chill is more than a little sharp. A similar drink can be found in German-speaking countries, named Gluhwein, which translates roughly as ‘glow-wine’ and calls for much of the same ingredients. Are more spectacular version, Feuerzangenbowle, calls for a rum-soaked sugarloaf to be set on fire and set to drip into the waiting wine.
In Nordic countries, you can get hold of ‘Glogg’, another mulled wine variant that is usually served with ginger biscuits during the cold months of the year, especially during the Christmas season.
In fact, in most European countries, you’ll find at least one variant of mulled wine to try!
How to celebrate Mulled Wine Day
You can rustle up your own mulled wine quite easily at home if you are feeling creative, and it’s not tough to make either. All you need is some red wine, sugar, lemon and orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. You can also throw in vanilla for an extra sweet kick.
Gently boil all the ingredients together – but make sure you don’t boil it too long, or you’ll burn off the alcohol! But if you don’t drink alcohol, mulled wine is just as tasty with the offending article evaporated away. Cheers!
