Midwinter mulled wine

Last night, the wind, rain and hailstones howled and whipped around our house for five hours, making eerie hooting noises in the eves, and causing all the window sashes to rattle and bang. Nobody got much sleep: it was like trying to doze off next to an antique roller coaster.

Ah, winter. I find joy in even the bleakest of midwinters. Raindrops gleaming on bare branches. Outdoor palettes muted to minimal, soft, greys and browns. The scent of woodsmoke curling from chimneys all over town.

A steaming cup of mulled wine, carrying heat to your very toes with every sip.

I read on a blog, once, somewhere on the World Wide Web, that mulled wine was a good remedy for colds. Or maybe a preventative, I can’t quite remember. Something about all the citrus and spices and the antioxidants in the red wine. This sounded mighty fine to me, so I decided that due diligence was for schmucks, and to take that blog as a medical mandate.

I mean, it would probably be irresponsible for me not to make mulled wine today. Right?

My mulled wine recipe is a French one, so technically you could call it vin chaud. It’s so good that even my husband, who regularly reminds me how much he does not like mulled wine, tried it and said, “Actually, that’s not too bad! I could drink more of that!” Which is pretty much the highest praise I could have asked for (and definitely the highest praise I’m going to get).

Recipe: Vin chaud traditionnel (traditional mulled wine)

Some thoughts about the red wine: a lot of recipes tell you that any old bottle of wine will do. (My recipe, being French, would most likely powerfully disagree!) My tip is not to necessarily use the cheapest and nastiest bottle you can find. Wine is still the dominant flavour, even over all the citrus and spices, so the more you enjoy the wine, the more you’ll enjoy the mulled version of the wine. I used one of our favourite syrahs for this drink.

METHOD

Step 1. Into a saucepan, pour the bottle of wine and the sugar, then stir to dissolve

Step 2. Add in all the spices

Step 3. Cut the fruits into eighths, then add them to the pot

Step 4. Heat the mixture gradually until it simmers: once it does, remove it from the heat and cover

Step 5. Let the flavours infuse for about five minutes, then serve it hot (garnish if you like, with a thin slice of orange and a star anise)

INGREDIENTS

1 bottle red wine

100g sugar

1 stick of cinnamon

1 star anise

2 cloves

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 orange (washed well)

1 lemon (washed well)

STORAGE

If you don’t drink it all at once, you can store your mulled wine in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. It’s up to you whether you choose to strain it first, or leave all the spices and citruses in to allow the flavours to grow stronger. Just reheat it slowly and gently on the stove when you’re ready.