I borderline stalked my friend for her German Mulled White Wine recipe that she got while living in Germany. It was worth it.
I’m becoming one of those annoying people. I fixate on recipes until I have them in my greedy little hands, and will harass you until I get it. An example, this white mulled wine recipe. If eat or drink something incredible at your house, there is a better than good chance I’m going to ask you for the recipe and share it here. (You’ve been warned.)
On Halloween, my sweet friend Lynn had us over to her house for trick-or-treating. (She does Halloween right you guys, I took notes.) When we got there, you were immediately hit in the face with the most incredible smell. Spicy and citrusy – the whole house smelled like a hug. I found out that it was her famous mulled wine. One sip in, a new obsession of mine began and it has been mulled wine all the time since.
I went to bed that night wondering how I was going to have more mulled wine in my life. The next morning I texted her for the recipe. She immediately texted me back and told me she would type it out for me. She has way more important and pressing things to do than indulge my need for mulled wine and forgot all about it. (Just like I would have.) Normal people probably would have forgotten about it and would moved on. Oh no, not me, I’m not normal.
You guys, I borderline stalked her for this recipe.
I’m not proud. And I am so thankful that she still talks to me after I harassed her so much.
They lived in Germany for a few years and she got this recipe from a restaurant there. I normally would never have even taken a sip. I stay away from really sweet drinks (because hangover) but this is not too sweet. It is a little sweet, but not cloying, and has a lot of bright notes from the citrus. As you can tell she has played with the recipe to get it just right.
I make a half batch when I make it (I’m on batch number 3), because it makes a lot. 6 liters of wine is no joke. If I have any leftover, which I almost always do, I strain out the citrus and spices so that it doesn’t get bitter. Keep it in a pitcher in your fridge and pour out a mug. Reheat it gently so that the alcohol doesn’t cook out. (I was sipping on a mug while I was writing this post.) It is so warming (my house is freezing all the time) and it is a nice little winter ritual.
When you are picking a wine for this mulled wine recipe, choose something that is dry and not sweet. These pictures are from two separate occasions (no longer striving for perfect) and I used Chateau St. Michelle and Zum riesling. I would choose wines from Eastern Europe, and not American or New Zealand because those rieslings tend to be really sweet.
Stud an orange with cloves. Slice your lemons.
Pour in your wine. I like to simmer mine on the stove, but you could add everything to a slow cooker and set it on low and let it go for a few hours.
Add the sugar, citrus, and spices. How gorgeous does that pot look?
Let it simmer on the stove for 20-30 minutes before serving. It can hang out for a few hours, just be careful to keep it warm and not bubbling. It will cook off all of the alcohol.
(This is a half batch.)
Ladle into mulled wine into mugs and serve with lemon slices, a cinnamon stick, and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
Mulled white wine, otherwise known as a hug in a mug. Also, a delicious Christmas tree decorating beverage.
Mulled White Wine
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 16 cloves
- 6 liters white wine (I like dry reisling. Auslese or a dry German wine is good.)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 lemon
- 8 cinnamon sticks, broken
- 14 whole allspice seeds
- 6 cardamom pods, crushed
For serving:
- fresh nutmeg
- lemon slices
- cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Stud the orange with cloves. Slice in half.
- Add wine, sugar, and orange juice to a Dutch oven, large pot, or slow cooker.
- Add studded orange, lemon, and spices.
- Simmer on very low heat, stirring occasionally. If using slow cooker, set on LOW for 2 hours.
17 Comments
Merry Christmas, Bree! My son lived in Berlin for 2 years and drank Gluhwein many times. Last Christmas we found a German market near us and sampled their Gluhwein. He was not impressed! Perhaps this will meet with his approval. Thank you for ‘stalking’ and sharing!
PS – Thank you for adding a ‘Print” icon and other little tweaks. Your readers appreciate the extras!
I hope that he approves. That’s a lot of pressure! The picture of the recipe is the actual recipe a restaurant in Germany gave her. It’s authentic German. 🙂
Bree! You are the best! I love that you are sharing this delicious recipe and speaking so kindly of me. You have become a welcome treat since we met. I take so much useable information from your weekly blog ~ it’s nice to return the favor.
YOU ARE! Thank you for sharing this with me. I will never not think of you when I am drinking it.
Mmmm. I just found your post looking for a specific white Gluhwein I had in Germany. I hope this is close, though I probably don’t remember it enough to know. Either way, I’m sure it’s fab. The place we had it in Germany served it in clear mugs and floated a slice of star fruit on the top. It was so festive! Can’t wait to treat my family to a different variety this holiday season 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Prost!
It is really good. I made my first batch on Halloween, it was heavenly.
Thank you for sharing, I fell in love this year with the White Gluhwein in Germany at the Christmas markets and wished I had bought more to tide me over for a few years, but this looks like a great recipe-can’t wait to try out and indulge in this version.
This came from a German Christmas market. I wish that I had a picture of Lynn’s actual recipe, it’s so cute and German. 🙂
This sounds wonderful! One question, how many standard bottles (750 ml) of wine do you use in the half recipe? If I convert the 6 liters in the full recipe to 750 ml bottles that would mean 4 standard bottles in a half recipe to serve 5 -6. Seems like a lot of wine for 6 servings.
I eyeball it. I don’t really measure. But I would say at least 3 bottles.
Thanks so much for the recipe with variations. We had red and white at the Christmas market in Baden Baden and I really preferred the white. We also discovered Jagertea which is tea with rum!
That sounds like something I need to try.
Thanks for the additional advice on which type of wines to use. I’ve been looking all over the web for help. I lived in Alsace, France for a year and one of my favorite things was the white mulled wine (vin chaud blanc) at the Christmas markets. So for my family this year (to ring in the new year) I am trying to recreate some I tried once with elder flower. I will definitely seek out a German Riesling instead of American/Australian (I wish they came in a box here) or keep my eye out for Auslese. Then for myself, to get through the rest of this hideous Utah winter I will certainly attempt your authentic German recipe. Thanks Bree!
MULLED WHITE WINE WITH GINGER AND ELDERFLOWER – https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/12/15/recipes-for-mulled-wine/aHNAr77y1Rq1jcrEe1vY8N/story.html
I love Alsatian wines so much, you are so lucky!