About Mulled Wine

"Mulled" means spiced and heated. Wine, as well as other beverages, included cider and mead, can be mulled. Many liquids can be mulled including mead and cider and, of course, wine. In colder parts of the world, like Northern Europe, mulled wine is a traditional drink that is especially popular at Christmas.  Mulled wine is often sound in outdoor markets in these places as well.

The history of mulled wine goes back a long time. People used to think that mulled wine was very healthy and called it "Hipocris" or "Ypocras, naming it after Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, because they thought mulled wine was very healthy. It kept people warm during cold winters and during medieval times, it was cleaner than the water.

Cook books of the 1500s show ways of mulling Bordeaux, also known as "Clarrey".

Recipes of that time called for the addition of spices like gallingale, cinnamon, cardamom, and honey. French wine was used in many of them.

In Victorian England, children drank a mulled wine known as "Negus" at birthday parties. Their parents took the opportunity to partake as well.

People continue to drink mulled wine at holiday parties today. There may be as a great a variety of mulled wine recipes as there are of Sangria recipes.

Preferences surrounding mulled wine differ in different parts of the world. In some places, mulled win recipes tend to favor white wine, while red wine is favored in others.  In some cuisines, only a small number of spices are added.  Recipes from other places can include the addition of oranges and more fruit, cloves and a dozen more spices. Fruit is often added to change the color of the wine.

Our Mulled Wine Recipe website will guide you through the various mulled wine recipes available for you to make at home or buy. Your mulled drink is limited only by your own imagination!

Types of Mulled Wine

Glögg

Scandinavians drink Glögg, a type of mulled wine that usually contains red wine and spices, such as ginger, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, and sugar or syrup.  Stronger alcoholic spirits, such as brandy or vodka may be added.

Glühwein

Germans make a kind mulled wine that is called Glühwein. It contains red wine, as well as spices and sugar.

It may include stronger spirits, such as brandy.

Quentão

The Brazilian form of mulled wine is known as Quentão. In this drink, spices are added to an alcoholic beverage that is made from fermented sugarcane and is known as cachaça. In some parts of Brazil, the cachaça is replaced with red wine.

Quentão is often served during Festa Junina, the Feast of St. John, which takes place in June, the beginning of the Brazilian winter.

Other Names for Mulled Wine

In Italy, mulled wine is called vin brulé. The French call it vin chaud. In Poland, mulled wine is known as grzane wino.