This traditional homemade mulled wine recipe is incredibly easy to make and always SO cozy and delicious.
Mmmmm…mulled wine. ♡
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. It seems like just about everyone in the world loves some hot wine. And clearly, I can vouch that you all do too!
We first shared this recipe five years ago after returning home from a chilly trip to Europe where my friends I loved warming up mugs of hot wine each evening in the pubs. Since then, literally hundreds of thousands of you have pulled up this recipe to simmer warm batches for yourself. (Amazing!) I now find myself living back in the continent where I first fell in love with the drink, where we have been served warm mugs of mulled wine at nearly every holiday gathering and Christmas market and food festival we attend. In our first holiday season away from home, this festive drink has felt more comforting and nostalgic and delicious as ever.
So today, in honor of my mulled wine recipe’s 5 year-iversary on the blog, I thought I would bump it back up to the top of the site (along with a new step-by-step video and fresh photos) for those of you who may also looking to simmer a cozy batch for yourself this winter. Because after having made this recipe dozens and dozens of times myself over the years, I am absolutely convinced that homemade mulled wine just about the easiest recipe ever for winter and holiday entertaining. It literally just takes about 5 minutes to prep and can be made either on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. It’s easy to scale anywhere from a “date night” to two…up to big holiday parties with dozens. It’s totally customizable with your favorite spices and liqueurs. And it’s guaranteed to make your home smell absolutely amazing and warm everyone up on a chilly winter night.
So grab a bottle of wine and let’s get to mulling!
Mulled Wine Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Mulled Wine Ingredients
To begin, gather your ingredients. For this mulled wine recipe, you will need:
- 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!) The best wine for mulled wine will be fruity and full-bodied, so that it can withstand the heat and not have its flavor completely drowned out by the aromatics. I recommend looking for a bottle of Zinfandel, Merlot, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.
- Brandy: Similar to sangria, it’s also traditional to spike your mulled wine with an extra bit of liqueur. Brandy is the traditional choice, but Cointreau (or another orange liqueur) or tawny port are also delicious alternatives.
- Fresh oranges: One of which we will slice and mull in the wine, one of which you can slice and use as a garnish if you’d like. (Edit: To minimize bitterness, I recommend peeling the orange before simmering it in the wine.)
- Cinnamon: I love the making mulled wine with cinnamon sticks, but you could whisk in some ground cinnamon if that’s what you have on hand.
- Mulling spices: These vary in mulled wine from country to country, but whole cloves and star anise are my favorites, plus perhaps a few cardamom pods.
- Sweetener: Feel free to add your favorite sweetener to taste. White or brown sugars are classic options, but I prefer to naturally sweeten mine with either maple syrup or honey.
How To Make Mulled Wine
To make mulled wine, simply…
- Combine ingredients. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and give them a quick stir.
- Simmer. Heat until the wine almost reaches a simmer over medium-high heat. (Avoid letting it bubble in any way. Alcohol begins to vaporize at 172°F, so take care to ensure that the wine does not evaporate.) Reduce heat to low, cover completely, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.
- Strain and season. Using a fine mesh strainer, remove and discard the orange slices, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise and ginger. Give the mulled wine a taste, and stir in your desired amount of extra sweetener if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm in heatproof mugs, topped with your favorite garnishes.
Possible Variations
Want to customize this mulled wine a bit? Feel free to…
- Use white wine: This recipe is also delicious (and lovely) when made with a dry white wine.
- Use a chai tea bag: In place of the cloves and star anise, feel free to steep 1 or 2 chai tea bags in the mulled wine (preferably caffeine-free, if you are serving this to a group in the evening).
- Add different aromatics: Feel free to add in whatever aromatics sound fun! Fresh ginger slices, cardamom pods, nutmeg, allspice or lemon zest are some other great aromatics to try.
- Add garnishes: For a festive touch, feel free to sprinkle some fresh cranberries in the pot a few minutes before serving.
- Make Crock Pot mulled wine: You are also welcome to try making mulled wine in the slow cooker with the setting on low. I just want to clearly caution that slow cookers can run the gamut when it comes to what they consider a “low” temperature. So if you use a slow cooker, be sure to keep a very close eye on it to ensure that the wine is not accidentally overheated and simmering.
More Holiday Drink Recipes
Looking for more festive holiday drink ideas? Here are a few more favorite holiday drink recipes:
Mulled Wine
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Homemade mulled wine is incredibly easy to make on the stovetop (or simmer in the slow cooker), it’s easy to customize with your favorite spices and add-ins, and it is SO cozy and delicious. Perfect for winter and holiday entertaining!
Ingredients
- 1 (750 ml) bottle of dry red wine
- 1/4 cup brandy (or orange liqueur)
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds (if you would like a less-bitter drink, peel the oranges)
- 8 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, honey, or maple syrup to taste (or your desired sweetener)
- optional garnishes: citrus slices (orange, lemon and/or lime), extra cinnamon sticks, extra star anise
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. Add wine, brandy, orange slices, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and 2 tablespoons sweetener to a large saucepan. Stir briefly to combine.
- Simmer. Cook the mulled wine on medium-high heat until it just barely reaches a simmer. (Avoid letting it bubble — you don’t want to boil off the alcohol.) Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.
- Strain. Using a fine mesh strainer, remove and discard the orange slices, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. Give the mulled wine a taste, and stir in extra sweetener if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm in heatproof mugs, topped with your favorite garnishes.
Notes
Cheesecloth option: You can also place the oranges, cloves, cinnamon, and star anise in a cheesecloth. Then simply strain and pull out the bundle when ready to serve.
Photos: I doubled the recipe for the photographs shown above.
My husband and I made this last night while we decorated our tree. It was very tasty! We loved it but we think the orange slices soaked up a ton of the wine because we only got about 2.5 cups out of it. Next time we’ll just add the orange slices to the cup before serving. Other than that, we will definitely be trying this again in our crockpot!
Thanks for sharing Kelli, we’re glad you guys enjoyed it! That’s crazy about the oranges though, we’re sorry about that!
Hi there! This looks delish -I want to make it this weekend! I am wondering though, would you think it would be ok for me to actually make it on Friday night, leave it in the fridge over night, and reheat it on Saturday? I just don’t think I will have enough time on Saturday to actually make it, wanting to do it ahead of time!
Thank you :)
Hi Kristen, thanks! We think that would be just fine, we hope you enjoy!
I’m visiting the Christmas Village in Philadelphia next week & can’t wait to try it there❤️
I’m visiting the Christmas Village in Philadelphia next week and they have this and I can’t wait to try it!
We hope you enjoy the recipe Belinda! That Christmas Village sounds fun!
Does anyone know why mine came out very sour tasting? Could it be the size of the orange?
Hi Sheila! We’re not sure why this could have come out on the sour side, unless maybe it was the type of wine you used? Or possibly the orange, but we doubt it. Either way, we’re sorry this happened, we haven’t had this experience before! :/
Mulled wine!! I didn’t love it at first, until Christmas markets in Germany snuggled up with styrofoam cups of gluewhein. Swoon. My tip: cooking it longer cooks out the alcohol. So, if you’re having non-drinkers at a party, cook it for a long time without the brandy, and then everyone can “alcohol to taste.” Excellent looking recipe!
Awesome, thanks for sharing with us, that’s a good tip for sure! :)
We make a similar recipe here in Brazil with wine, vodka or Brazilian cachaça (an alcoholic beverage made of sugar cane), cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger and sugar. You can boil it as much as you want, depending on how alcoholic you want it to be, you can even boil it until it is not alcoholic anymore. This is called “quentão”, which sort of means “great warmth” because it really heats up the cold winter nights, specially here in southern Brazil where we get some below zero temperatures and snow. But I’m definitely interested on trying your recipe with oranges ;)
That’s so cool, Priscila, thank you for sharing! Do you add any fruit to the alcohol while you’re boiling it?
I LOVE mulled wine and make it many times during the holiday season. To prevent boiling out the alcohol (most important part!) I start with a cup of water at the beginning and boil the spices in that instead of the wine. After about 15 minutes, I add the wine, turn heat to low and cook another 15 minutes. Then add brandy!
Loved the taste and ingredients, however my English and German friends recommend NOT boiling the wine and or brandy with the other ingredients, as that basically takes the alcohol content out. In Europe, the wine and brandy is added only after the heat has cooled down to a simmer or warm, then added. But if you like it not so strong and boozy, maybe boiling the wine with everything else is a good tip!
Cheers,
Kent
You don’t have mulled wine in the Staes?! That MAKES Christmas for me back over the pond. We introduced our Brazilian flatmate to it recently, and I’ve never seen anyone look happier.
Thought you might like a slight alteration: swap the brandy for cointreau or another orange liqueur. It brings out the zesty flavours even more. Popping the spices into a muslim cloth tied with a pretty ribbon makes a great gift too!