There’s nothing like a mug of mulled wine on a cold night. Red wine, orange, cinnamon, and cloves warm together on the stove, and your whole house smells like the holidays.
It’s one of the easiest holiday drinks you can make. But it’s also easy to get wrong. Cook it too hot or too long and it turns bitter. Leave the wrong part of the orange in the pot and it turns bitter even faster.
This easy mulled wine recipe fixes all of that. It takes about 30 minutes on the stove, and there’s a crockpot version for parties.
Ingredients for Mulled Wine
- Dry, fruity red wine. One standard 750 ml bottle. More on picking one below.
- Orange. You’ll use the peel and the juice. Save a second orange for slices to garnish.
- Apple. A few slices add a soft, fruity note.
- Whole spices. Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and star anise. Skip ground spices; they cloud the wine and are very hard to strain out.
- Brown sugar. Start with 2 tablespoons and add more at the end if you want it sweeter.
- Brandy or orange liqueur. Optional, but it adds warmth. It goes in at the very end.
The Best Wine for Mulled Wine
Pick a dry, fruity red with some body: Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache (Garnacha), or Cabernet Sauvignon.
The spices and sugar change the flavor so much that a pricey bottle is wasted here. A good everyday bottle is perfect. Just don’t grab one you wouldn’t drink on its own.
How to Make Mulled Wine on the Stove
- Peel the orange. Use a vegetable peeler to take off wide strips of the orange part only. Leave the white pith behind. Then cut the orange in half and squeeze out the juice.
- Stud the peel. Push the cloves into a couple of the peel strips. Now they’re easy to fish out later.
- Combine. In a stainless steel or enameled pot, add the wine, peel, orange juice, apple slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Warm it gently. Heat over medium-low until it’s steaming with a few tiny bubbles at the edges. Don’t let it simmer hard or boil.
- Steep. Turn the heat to its lowest setting, cover, and let it steep for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Taste and strain. Add more brown sugar if you’d like it sweeter. Then pull out the peel and cloves, or pour it through a strainer.
- Finish. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the brandy. Ladle into mugs and garnish with a fresh orange slice and a cinnamon stick.
How Hot Should Mulled Wine Be?
Hot enough to steam, never hot enough to bubble. Mulled wine is best served around 150°F, and you should keep it under about 175°F. Alcohol starts to cook off as it gets close to that, and the wine turns bitter.
No thermometer? Watch the surface. Steam and a few lazy bubbles at the edge are fine. Bubbles rolling across the whole pot mean it’s too hot.
Why Is My Mulled Wine Bitter?
Three things cause almost every bitter batch:
- The pith. The white layer under an orange’s skin turns bitter in hot wine. That’s why this recipe steeps peel strips and saves the orange slices for garnish.
- Too much heat. Boiling scorches the flavor and drives off alcohol. Keep it at a steam.
- Too much time. Spices keep pulling flavor the longer they sit. After a while, cloves take over the wine. A 20 to 30 minute steep is plenty, and pulling the cloves out before you hold it warm keeps the flavor balanced.
Crockpot Mulled Wine for a Crowd
A slow cooker is the easiest way to serve mulled wine at a party. It frees up the stove, keeps the wine warm, and lets guests help themselves.
- Double the recipe for a 2-bottle batch (about 8 servings). Add everything except the brandy and garnish to the crockpot.
- Cook on Low until it’s steaming, about 3 to 4 hours for two bottles, or on High for about 2 hours. A smaller 1-bottle batch on Low can be ready in 30 minutes to an hour, so start checking early.
- Pull the peel and cloves once it’s steaming, then stir in the brandy.
- Switch to Warm to serve. If your slow cooker doesn’t have a Warm setting, switch back and forth between Low and Off so it never starts to bubble.
- Keep the lid on between refills, and float fresh orange slices on top.
Running low? Pour in another bottle of wine and give it time to heat back up.
Can You Make Mulled Wine Ahead?
Yes. Strain out the fruit and spices, let it cool, and refrigerate it in a covered container for up to 3 days. If you leave the fruit in, drink it the next day, because it can start to ferment.
To reheat, warm it gently on the stove or in the slow cooker on Low. Just don’t let it boil.
Does Mulled Wine Still Have Alcohol?
Yes. Gentle heat takes out far less alcohol than most people think. Mulled wine kept warm for hours does lose some alcohol, but not all of it. If you need a drink with no alcohol, use one of the non-alcoholic versions below.
Mulled Wine Variations
- Apple cider mulled wine. Add 2 cups of apple cider (the sweet kind, not vinegar) and cut back on the brown sugar.
- Mulled white wine. Use a dry white wine instead of red, and swap the brandy for 1 cup of hard apple cider.
- Spiced pear mulled wine. Add 1 cup of pear juice and a can of sliced pears with their juice. Garnish with pear slices.
- Non-alcoholic mulled wine. Use non-alcoholic red wine, or swap the wine for apple cider, and skip the brandy.
DIY Mulled Wine Spice Kit Gift
A mulled wine kit is an easy homemade Christmas gift, especially tied to a bottle of red. In a small jar, layer 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 star anise, and 8 whole cloves. Add a small bag with 2 to 4 tablespoons of brown sugar.
Then tie on a tag that says: Add 1 bottle of red wine plus the peel and juice of 1 orange. Warm gently for 20 to 30 minutes and never let it boil. Stir in 1/4 cup brandy before serving.
What to Serve With Mulled Wine
Mulled wine goes with spiced nuts, gingerbread cookies, and a cheese board with aged cheeses, dried fruit, and dark chocolate.
It also stands up to hearty winter meals like roasts and stews.
So pick a good everyday red, peel that orange carefully, and keep the pot at a steam. Your house will smell like Christmas, and your mulled wine will taste like it too.
Easy Mulled Wine
Equipment
- Stainless steel or enameled pot
- Vegetable peeler
- Strainer or slotted spoon
- heatproof mugs
Ingredients
- 1 bottle 750 ml dry, fruity red wine, such as Merlot, Zinfandel, or Syrah
- 1 orange for peel and juice
- 1 apple cored and sliced
- 8 whole cloves
- 2 to 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 to 3 star anise
- 2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar to taste
- 1/4 cup brandy or orange liqueur optional
Garnish: fresh orange slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of orange peel, leaving the white pith behind. Halve the orange and squeeze out the juice.
- Push the cloves into a couple of the peel strips.
- In a stainless steel or enameled pot, combine the wine, peel strips, orange juice, apple, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
- Warm over medium-low heat until steaming, with a few tiny bubbles at the edges. Do not let it boil.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover, and steep for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Taste and add more brown sugar if you like. Remove the peel and cloves, or strain.
- Off the heat, stir in the brandy. Ladle into mugs and garnish with orange slices and cinnamon sticks.
Notes
Cook on Low 3 to 4 hours or High about 2 hours, until steaming. Remove the peel and cloves, stir in the brandy, and switch to Warm. No Warm setting? Alternate between Low and Off. Make ahead: Strain, cool, and refrigerate covered for up to 3 days. Reheat gently without boiling. No pith: Steep only the peel. Whole orange slices left in hot wine can make it bitter.
Davin is a jack-of-all-trades but has professional training and experience in various home and garden subjects. He leans on other experts when needed and edits and fact-checks all articles. Also an aspiring cook we he researches and tries all kinds of different food recipes and shares what works best.