Mulled Wine Recipe
Homemade mulled wine is easy to make in the slow cooker, infused with citrus, honey, spices, and a splash of bourbon. Perfect for holiday entertaining!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 750 ml red wine, I use Merlot
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 whole orange, peeled, segmented
- 6 whole cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, thinly sliced
- ½ cup Maker's Mark Bourbon
- ¼ cup honey, or to taste, optional
- fresh orange slices, rosemary sprigs, cinnamon sticks, for garnish, optional
Instructions
Slow Cooker Method
- Combine all ingredients in a 3 to 4-quart slow cooker pot.
- Stir and cover with a lid.
- Cook on LOW for 1 to 2 hours.
- Remove the lid and stir. Taste and adjust with the sweetener, if needed.
- Ladle the mulled wine into mugs without the spices. Garnish with a slice of orange, rosemary sprig, and/or cinnamon sticks, and serve.
- After you remove the lid, leave the slow cooker on the Warm setting while serving.
Stovetop Method
- Combine the ingredients in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed cooking pot and set it over medium heat.
- When the wine comes to a simmer, turn the heat down to as low as it will go.
- Cover, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, remove and discard the orange slices and spices. Give the mulled wine a taste, and stir in extra sweetener if needed.
- Serve it warm in heatproof glasses or mugs and top with garnishes.
Notes
- Wine Choices: Mulled wine is often best to make with affordable, full-bodied red wine as the spices will significantly alter the wine's original flavor. You can try it with a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Zinfandel.
- Scale: Adjust the recipe easily for more servings, but avoid overfilling the slow cooker.
- Hot Liquid Mugs: Serve in mugs or glasses that can handle the heat to avoid cracking.
- Be sparing with spices; their flavors intensify with the heat, so a little is plenty.
- Use the slow cooker for gentle heating to avoid turning the wine syrupy.
- Utilize the “keep warm” setting to maintain temperature, and check occasionally to prevent overheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.05g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 192mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
