Mulled Wine (Wassail Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

Is wassail and mulled wine the same thing? ›

There are very few differences between mulled cider and Wassail Punch. Both contain spices and some juice. One of the main differences is that mulled wine is often made with whole oranges. However, Wassail is traditionally made with apple juice.

Over time, the term became more associated with the drink itself rather than for the wish of good cheer. There isn't much difference between wassail and hot mulled cider. Both are made with sweet apple cider and infused with warm spices.

Mulled wine is a hot beverage that's made by mixing wine with various spices and letting it simmer before serving warm. Mulled cider is the same concept, just with cider instead of wine!

The best red wine to use for mulled wine is Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha (also called Grenache). These wines are dark, fruity and full bodied, which means they can support all of the flavors we'll be adding. Look for labels that describe the wine as “jammy” or with “notes of vanilla.”

Mulled wine goes by many names—spiced wine, hot wine, glögg, glühwein, and vin chaud are a few I hear used interchangeably.

In the Welsh tradition, when wassailing house to house, the group would sing Welsh language songs and indulge in a ritual known as 'pwnco' which is an exchange of rhymes with the householder.

Unless you keep it boiling for a while it won't lose much alcohol content. While pure ethanol does evapoate quickly at a relatively low temperature, the lower the alcohol content gets, the more slowly does more alcohol evaporate at that temperature. Mulled wine will typically have between eight and 13 per cent abv.

As its popularity continued to grow throughout the middle ages, Europeans would mix heated wine with spices because they believed it would promote health and avoid sickness. They would also use herbs and flowers as natural sweeteners to make unpalatable wines taste a lot nicer.

It soon became a festive staple as people used to make this flavourful drink during winter months only. They used to prepare this drink, especially during Christmas, while enjoying the festival with their friends and family. Soon this became a tradition and is being followed till date.

Mulled Wine Ingredients:

Wine: No need to splurge on a pricey bottle — a mid-range bottle of dry red or white wine will do. (Or if you're making a big batch, this is a great recipe to break out a nicer boxed wine too!)

How long should you heat mulled wine? ›

Method. Put the red wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, lemon zest and sugar in a large pan. Cook on a low heat for 10 mins. Remove from the heat and cool, leaving to infuse for about 30 mins.

The reason they are cheaper than a bottle of red wine is because there is far less red wine in them! If you read the (very) small print on the label of Lidl's Christkindl Gluhwein, it is described as a "Flavoured beverage containing wine".

This traditional homemade mulled wine recipe is incredibly easy to make and always SO cozy and delicious. Also known as glühwein, vino caliente, glögg, vin brulé, bisschopswijn, vin chaud, candola, vinho quente…or literally a hundred other names, depending on where in the world life may find you.

Just as warming as mulled wine, mulled cider is a less sweet alternative. Made using a similar technique, mulled cider is packed with spices to create a harmonious taste that can be served in mugs or fancy glasses.

The tradition of wassailing (also spelled wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail.

Also known as spiced wine, this is an alcoholic drink made with red wine, along with various spices usually served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas.