Mulled Wine

vintner's mulled wine in a pot with spices such as orange, cinnamon and vanilla

The adding of spices to wine has a very long tradition in the world of wine. The Romans already flavoured some of their wine with sugar and spices to make it more pleasurable and longer lasting.

Facts

  • 7 - 14,5

    alcohol content by volume

  • from 78°C

    heat causes the alcohol to escape

More and more German winegrowers offer home-made mulled wine based on individual recipes partly in organic quality. The very fruity red wines from the German wine-growing regions are well suited for aromatic mulled wine. By warming the wine, the aromas, which are reminiscent of red fruit, become even more expressive and are wonderfully harmonious in combination with the flavouring ingredients. White mulled wines, made from Riesling or Müller-Thurgau for example, are also on offer.

Since 2022, rosé mulled wine may finally be marketed as such by name. A new specification in the EU regulation now allows this. In terms of wine law, mulled wine is a flavoured beverage containing wine, made exclusively from red, rosé or white wine and sweetened and flavoured. The addition of alcohol as well as water or colouring is prohibited. The actual alcohol content must be at least 7% vol. and less than 14.5% vol.

Warming

When warming the mulled wine you should make sure not to heat it too much or even let it simmer, as otherwise delicate fruit aromas will be lost and bitter agents will develop. Additionally, from a temperature of 78°C, alcohol will evaporate.

Flavouring

Don’t add too many spices all at once, and only little amounts. Too many cloves spoil the mulled wine. Cinnamon, star anise and allspice in too large amounts can cover the fruity aromas of the wine as well. Sweeten cautiously. If you are already using a semi-sweet wine, you often don’t need much sugar or honey.

Pay attention to quality

Make sure to use fresh spices and a quality wine. Designations such as "Winzer-Glühwein" (vintner’s mulled wine), or "Weingut" (wine estate) on the label guarantee that the mulled wine was made only from the producers‘ own wines and on their own premises. The designation "Deutscher Glühwein" (German mulled wine) on the label means that only domestic base wines were used.

Have enough time at hand

After the first warming let the mulled wine steep for a few hours, maybe even over night, so that the aromas can fully unfold. Then use a sieve to remove the spices for better enjoyment.

Drink in moderation

You will have the greatest pleasure if you use high-quality ingredients and drink mulled wine in moderation.

Recipe tips

Recipe ideas for dishes to go with mulled wine in the DWI Genießershop: shop.deutscheweine.de

Does mulled wine always have to be red wine?

No! For some years now, white mulled wines have also been in greater demand. As a new trend, fruity rosé mulled wines have also developed as a light counterpart to the heavy red wines.

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts Venison medallions

with pears, beans, parsley root and black walnuts

  • 12 Stück Rehmedaillions (a 80g)
  • 30 Gramm gebratene Speckstreifen
  • 200 ml Bechamelsauce
  • 3 EL Sonnenblumenöl
  • 8 kleine Petersilienwurzeln mit Grün (alternativ Knollensellerie)
  • 6 - 8 breite Schnippelbohnen
  • 1 große Birne
  • 4 - 6 schwarze Walnüsse
  • 100 ml Wildfond
  • 2 EL Butter
  • 2 Stängel glatte Petersilie
  • nach Geschmack Salz

Preheat the oven to 180 °C top and bottom heat. Clean, peel and trim the parsley roots. Clean the beans and cut into diagonal pieces. Blanch the parsley roots and beans separately in boiling salted water and rinse immediately in iced water.

 

Cut the walnuts into eighths and warm in the game stock. Wash the unpeeled pear, cut into eighths, remove the core and cut into thin slices. Fry the venison medallions on both sides in oil, then finish cooking in the oven for approx. 3 - 5 minutes.

 

In the meantime, toss the beans and parsley roots in melted butter and season with salt. Arrange the vegetables with the black walnuts and pear slices on large plates. Place the medallions on top, garnish with game stock, Béchamel sauce and bacon strips.

 

Tip: You can make your own black walnuts. To do this, prick the walnuts all over with a fork or skewer and place in water for 10 days. Change the water every day so that the tannic acid can drain off. Boil the nuts 3 times in salted water until they are deep black. Simmer with bay leaves and peppercorns for approx. 20 minutes until soft. Layer in preserving jars and cover with syrup. The nuts can be kept for approx. 1 year.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
  • Pinot Gris (trocken)

with pear wedges Chicken breast strips

with pear wedges

  • 500 Gramm Hähnchenbrustfilet
  • 2 reife Birnen
  • 200 ml Birnensaft
  • 100 ml Sahne
  • 1 ganze Zwiebel
  • 4 EL Olivenöl
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Cut the chicken breast fillet into strips. Peel the onion and cut into cubes. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the meat in it. Add the diced onion and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

 

Wash and peel the pears, remove the skin, cut into wedges and sauté in the pan. Deglaze with the pear juice and allow to reduce slightly.

<p

 

<p>Finally, add the cream and season to taste.

  • Müller-Thurgau (halbtrocken & feinherb)
  • Kerner (halbtrocken & feinherb)

with semi-frozen goat's milk Lavender waffles

with semi-frozen goat's milk

  • 2 Stück Eigelb
  • 60 ml Ziegenmilch
  • 500 Gramm weiße Kuvertüre
  • 125 ml Sahne
  • Abrieb und Saft einer halben Orange
  • 2 cl Tresterbrand
  • 8 Blatt Minze
  • 125 Gramm Mehl
  • 50 Gramm Zucker
  • 70 Gramm Butter
  • 2 Eier
  • 1 Messerspitze Backpulver
  • 1/2 EL Lavendelzucker
  • 175 ml Milch

Semi-frozen goat's milk: Beat the egg yolks and goat's milk in a bowl over a hot bain-marie until creamy. Remove from the bain-marie and beat the cream until cold. Flavour with the zest of the orange and the marc brandy.

 

Liquefy the couverture in a bain-marie and stir into the lukewarm egg mixture. Whip the cream until stiff and carefully fold in. Line a parfait tin (triangular or gutter shape) with cling film. Pour in the mixture and smooth out. Cover well with cling film and leave to freeze in the freezer for at least 8 hours.

 

About 20 minutes before serving, remove the mould from the freezer and turn the parfait out of the mould. Remove the foil and cut the semi-frozen parfait into 8 slices.

<p

 

<p>Lavender wafers: Lightly mash the butter in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add the sugar and stir a little. Add half of the milk, the lavender sugar and the baking powder. Stir in the eggs and finally the rest of the milk. Mix everything well with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes to create a homogeneous, slightly liquid mixture. Bake the batter in batches in a waffle iron until golden brown.</p

 

<p>Arrange 2 slices of semifreddo on each waffle on a flat plate and decorate with mint leaves.

  • Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)

with shrimps Pumpkin soup

with shrimps

  • 1 kleiner Hokkaido-Kürbis
  • 1 Zwiebel
  • 5 cm Ingwer
  • 2 EL Butter
  • 750 ml Gemüsebrühe
  • 300 ml Kokosmilch
  • 12 mittelgroße Shrimps
  • 2 EL Olivenöl
  • Eine Prise Salz & Pfeffer

Peel and dice the pumpkin, onion and ginger and sauté in the butter.

 

Deglaze with the vegetable stock and sauté for about 15 to 20 minutes until soft.

 

Sauté the shrimps in a little olive oil and leave to cook over a low heat for a few minutes. Place on wooden skewers and keep warm in aluminium foil.

 

When the vegetables have been steamed until soft, blend finely with a hand blender. Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Serve the soup in large cups and garnish with the shrimp skewers.

 

Freshly baked white bread goes well with this.

  • Muskateller (halbtrocken & feinherb)
  • Federweißer (brut nature)