Thursday, January 27, 2011

Spiced Wine and the Holidays

By Andrew Miller


Spiced wine is a popular wine for the holidays, although it is also nice to have on any chilly night. Spiced wine is also known as mulled wine and from the point of view of the one making it, it?s very easy to produce. Whether you want to make mulled wine from scratch, or you need a quick bottle for an occasion, this spiced wine is a great way to add some festive cheer any day of winter or even autumn. And it makes a great gift for someone you care about.

Spiced wine is, in essence, dry red wine that has been heated and flavored with a myriad of spices such as cloves, cinnamon, and citrus such as lemon and orange. The mulled wine is then served hot in a mug or a thick cup rather than a wine glass because a wine glass will be damaged over time through exposure to too many hot fluids. Mulled wine goes well with other holiday treats, but it won?t work so well with a meal; it?s more of a relaxation wine than anything else.

If you want to make your own spiced wine, you have a couple of options. If you want to make it purely from scratch, you?ll have to make your homemade red wine first and make sure you have at least two bottles on hand. It should be dry red wine and just a straight grape for the base. Remember that the best home made red wine is bottled and left to age for at least a year, so if you want your own purely homemade spiced wine for the next season, you should start now!

However, if you just want some quick spiced wine for a special event, then you can cut straight to the dry red wine by purchasing your own. It doesn?t have to be a top of the line brand because you?re going to be heavily flavoring it anyway; indeed, if you have tried making red wine and weren?t sure about the results, spicing it may also be an option. Then, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, lemon, orange and sugar to the wine and heat it all over the stove, starting with the sugar, water, cinnamon sticks, and cloves and adding the lemon, orange and wine to the mixture as it heats. Simmer everything for an hour and then strain out all of the fruit and spices and serve the wine in cups with cinnamon sticks to stir and continue flavoring the wine. It?s really easy to make and well worth the effort!

Spiced wine is a great way to enjoy the holidays or just to have when it?s cold out and you want to relax. It?s the easiest wine to make and can be made either from scratch or by purchasing the red wine and adding to it and it makes for a great gift or just something to enjoy on a long winter?s night.




About the Author:



No comments: