Ready for the Holidays? Our wine is!

In the market for a warm holiday beverage but would rather skip the hard liquors? Want your wine fix but also want to feel cozy? Read up about our favorite holiday wine recipe - MULLED WINE!

Pictured above: Jen (left) and her mother (Right) at a local winery - looking for the best red!

As we all get ready to hunker down for the holiday season, we here at the Weekly Buzz'd are turning to a true classic around the world. Never heard of mulled wine? That's Fine! I was introduced to mulled wine during an abundantly chilly January winter college course in the Czech Republic. The warmed alcoholic beverage was the perfect vessel to keep your chilly hands and shivering body warm while walking through the frigid weather.

Each recipe for mulled wine varies by what kind of wine you use, what kind of spices you like, and your heating method. To make things easier, I've outlined my tips and tricks to find the perfect mulled wine for your family (or friend) table!

The Heat Source:

There are two approaches to mulled wine, stovetop or crockpot/slow cooker/instapot. Which you decide to choose simply depends on how long you need to keep your wine warmed, how many people you are serving, how much space you have on your stovetop, and personal preference. Both methods work about the same and there is no benefit, in my experience, to choose one over the other.

Directions:

Stovetop: combine all ingredients in your pot and heat over medium-high until the liquid begins to simmer.* Reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for at least 15 minutes (but for up to 3 hours).

Crockpot: combine all ingredients in your crockpot/slow cooker/instapot and heat on low until warmed.* Once heated, reduce the heat to warm and it's ready to serve all night! (although the flavor will improve over time)

*make sure that the liquid does not boil (stove) and that you do not heat it on high (crockpot), otherwise you will burn off the alcohol!

The Wine:

As you heat your wine, the residual sugars in the wine will burn off, thus making it a little more bitter. To combat this, I recommend that even if you prefer drier wines (like myself) to opt for a sweet wine with berry notes. This will keep the wine much more palatable as it heats and lend itself better to the mulling process.

Recommendations:

Tasting Notes: berry (blackberry, strawberry, blueberry), red grapes, brown sugar

Residual Sugars: between 5-6% residual sugars

The Spices:

Recipes may vary on this so my recommendation is to experiment!

There are, however, a few spices that are standard in most mulled wines.

Cinnamon: typically put in two cinnamon sticks, but ground cinnamon could work in a pinch

Cloves: typically put in 4-8 whole cloves, but ground cloves work just as well (I usually don't have whole cloves on me so I get it, girl)

Allspice: typically put in 6 allspice berries, but just like everything else, ground works very well and is what I do

Orange**: I typically use dried orange peel, but fresh orange peel also works and if you want a sweeter flavor, you can also put in sliced orange (recommendation: 1/2 of an orange)

Star Anise*: typically put in two star anise pods, but just like the cinnamon and cloves, ground works just as well

Cardamom*: typically put in two cardamom pods, but you can also use ground cardamom

Black Peppercorns*: if you are feeling adventurous and like an extra kick, add 6 whole black peppercorns.

* Star Anise is used in many of the recipes that I have seen online but I don't personally use it, I opt for allspice.

* Some recipes call for cardamom, again this isn't what I use, but feel free to experiment!!

**Do not use orange juice, as this will drastically change the flavor!

The Sweetness

This section is optional. If you prefer very dry wines then you may want to skip this part for your personal recipe. I have found, however, that adding a sweetener can really add a depth of flavor to your recipe. Here are some common sweeteners:

Jam: I use blackberry or raspberry in mine and prefer using a jam over other sweeteners because I think it lends itself better to the wine flavor

Brown Sugar: It's important to use brown sugar instead of your typical granulated sugar because brown sugar has that added molasses note to it. I find this sweetener to be on the sweeter side for my liking, but if you want extra sweet I say go for it!

Honey: Also a very sweet option to use as your sweetener. I find that honey can taste very nice with the spices, especially if it is local fall honey that tends to be on the darker side.

Note that I haven't given measurements on this section. That is because the sweetness depends on your own personal taste and style. I like to be very conservative when adding my sweeteners at first and taste as I go!

My last note it to make sure to serve your beverage in heat safe drinkware. It would be a shame to have a glass shatter and to lose your yummy wine!

With that being said, enjoy creating your new concoction! Ask family members for their opinions! And if you have any additions to my list, please reach out cause all of us here at the Weekly Buzz'd would love to try it too!

Happy Holidays from all of us to you and stay safe out there!

Forever Buzz'd,

Jen