Mulled Wine to celebrate the start of Advent season

The Christmas markets are back and so is mulled wine!

Today we got our Christmas tree for the start of the Advent season. The tree is up and we clink our mugs filled with steaming mulled wine and enjoy the sweet smell of orange, cinnamon, cloves and wine. Now it's time to decorate our beautiful fir tree, listen to some music and enjoy the warm drink together with some mince pies. I love December!

Mulled Wine

My recipe is a rough guideline, play with it, which is what I do. Sometimes I add some orange or lemon juice or put a few ginger slices into the steaming wine, or refine it with some cardamom and aniseed.

• red wine 1 bottle (750ml)

• black tea, preferably Earl Grey, 300ml / 1 1/4 cups

• brandy or rum 30ml / 1 ounce

• honey 2 tablespoons

• maple sirup 3-4 tablespoons

• organic orange, scrubbed and rinsed, 1

• cinnamon stick, broken, 1

• cinnamon, ground, 1/2 teaspoon

• star-anis, single pieces broken from one star, 3

• cloves 10

optionally:

• cardamom pods, cracked, 3

• aniseed 1 teaspoon

• orange juice 300ml / 1 1/4 cups

Slice the orange thickly and stud with cloves.

Combine everything in a pan, close with a lid and warm up slowly on medium heat. The spices need time to spread their flavors! But watch it as it shouldn't start boiling. Sweeten to taste, fill the steaming wine in mugs and get cosy!