Best Mulled Wines | Wine Enthusiast

From the first bit of chill in the evening air, those of us who love the cozy season pull out all the stops to make home a bit more hygge.

For wine lovers, that means donning your favorite fuzzy sweater, throwing a log on the fireplace (or plugging in your faux version) and settling in with a nice warm mug of cinnamon-scented mulled wine. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

The History of Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is an ancient beverage. An archeological dig into the tomb of early Egyptian pharaoh Scorpion I revealed he was buried with 4,500 liters of spiced wine seasoned with tree resin, figs, grapes, coriander, sage and mint. The ancient Greeks and Romans also dug mulled wine, spiking theirs with citrus fruits and spices, and may have even considered it a type of medicine.

After all, the ancient Greek mulled wine with honey and pepper was called Ypocras or Hippocras, an homage to Hippocrates, the father of medicine.

The British took to mulled wine in a big way, embracing the social aspect of sharing warm, sweet wine with friends and neighbors. Their go-to was wassail, a drink that takes its name from the Anglo Saxon toast “waes hael,” which means “be in good health” or “be well.”

In areas with orchards, farmers and townsfolk would head outside with wine seasoned with spice and honey and bless the trees to ensure a good harvest. In other parts of the U.K., Christmas carolers would be rewarded with cups of mulled wine. Eventually caroling became to be known as wassailing.

Today, nearly every culture around the globe enjoys some form of warm wine simmered with spices, sugar and fruit. Whether you call it gløgg, gluhwein, wassail or mulled wine, there’s something quite satisfying about the feeling that comes from sipping fragrant hot vino with friends.

How to Make Mulled Wine

While red mulled wine is very traditional, there’s no reason you can’t make a delicious, spiced wine with white wine and even rosé. Making it is easy. We gathered some of our favorite bottles for mulled wine, and even recipes, like this classic version,  a German take on it, a tangy citrus one and even one from Norway for your cold weather entertaining pleasure.

FAQs

What Are the Best Wines for Mulled Wine?

The best wines for mulled wine are on the lighter side, fruity and dry. The reason? Wines with a lot of oak aging or tannins will turn bitter once heated.  Beyond these attributes, you can make your mulled wine with any style of wine you prefer, including white wines like Pinot Grigio or Verdejo, juicy rosés like Grenache, or reds like Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Merlot. It’s a great way to use up good leftover wine that sat in the back of the refrigerator for a few days too long.

As a bonus, many of the bottles can be affordable, so you won’t blow your entertaining budget on one drink.

Since you’re mixing your wine with spices and fruit, you wouldn’t want to use an expensive red wine with heavy tannins. Besides being a waste of the investment, the tannins and oaky flavors in a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon will be magnified when heated, yielding a bitter mulled wine.

The best red wines for mulled wines taste bright and fresh, such as Grenache, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, fruit-forward Pinot Noir. Inexpensive Bordeaux is another great choice for mulled wine; in fact, claret was a traditional choice for British mulled wine in William Shakespeare’s day.

What Spices Should I Use for the Best Mulled Wine?

Most of the spices you need for your mulled wine recipe are probably already in your kitchen. Javier Hernandez, senior spice associate with Oaktown Spice Shop in Oakland, California says that their classic mulling spice mix contains cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom and clove.

“Cinnamon and allspice provide warming notes, and then you get the ginger, which provides a little bit of heat; cardamom provides a nice camphor note and you get beautiful notes from cloves to round everything out,” Hernandez explains. This blend works equally well with red, rosé and white wines.

While you may have most of these spices on hand, if you can’t remember when you bought them, it might be a good idea to replace them before making a batch of mulled wine. Spices lose their potency in a year or so.

Can You Make White Mulled Wine? 

White wines are lovely choices for mulled wine. Because of their natural transparency, white wines will showcase the spices and fruits you add, even more so than some red wines. Stay away from an oaky, buttery Chardonnay, however, as those flavors won’t deal well with heat. Instead, choose an affordable fresh, crisp and fruity white wine, such as Chenin Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or a Rhône white blend with Roussanne, Marsanne, and Viognier.

What Are the Best Glasses for Mulled Wine?

If you’re ladling out your mulled wine piping hot from the stove, then you’ll want to serve it in heat-resistant drinkware like a footed glass mug, a porcelain teacup or ceramic coffee mug. If you have a punch bowl, this would be a fine time to pull it out, along with the punch cups that came with it. The small cups encourage sipping. And coppery metal mugs, such as the kind used for Moscow Mules can work too, as long as the wine isn’t too hot to handle.

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