After being introduced and adapted in Western Europe wine naturally passed a number of adaptations including a very interesting climatic variation – mulled wine.
When wine spread to regions that have cold winters like Great Britain, Germany, France and Scandinavia, local population in time tried to heat wine to create a form of hot alcoholic beverage. The origin of the recipe is unclear, but due to the fact that it is most traditional in German, Scandinavian and French territories and that people in Near East and Mediterranean had no need to make wine hot due to their warm climate, most probably this type of wine was invented in Western Europe. In time most of the Eastern Europe also picked up this beverage and adapted mulled wine in their own forms. This is a very traditional drink, first recorded recipes go up to 1390 and they are not really different from the modern ones.
Most of the European countries have their own mulled wine recipes, but the difference is only in spices added to the wine. The most common set consists of sugar, clove, cinnamon, honey and pieces of lemon or orange (in some recipes only the zest of these fruits). Mostly red wine is used to cook mulled wine and the recipe is very simple. All the ingredients are cooked together in two stages short boiling and then around 40 minutes for brewing. A result is a hot and spicy alcoholic beverage that can be served right away or made stronger with a little rum or liqueur. Other spices added throughout Europe include nutmeg, vanilla, peppercorn and even black pepper. It seems that every nation in the Old World was interested in creating their own mulled wine recipe different from the neighbors. One of the main benefits of mulled wine is that it can be made even from cheap wine and will still taste good if the mix of spices was right.
An interesting form of mulled wine is the Scandinavian Glogg. In general it is not very different from the European wines, but allows using a range of different spices like ginger, stronger alcohol like vodka or brandy and has a very strict recipe. It allows using white wines or even be alcohol free. While European Mulled wine is often more of a magical experiment, the Scandinavian version has strict time and temperature limits. It is hard to say which type of mulled wine is better but in any case the Scandinavian version is way more serious Christmas drink.
Today mulled wine is very popular in German-speaking countries and even in Alsace a former German region of France. It is mostly associated with Christmas and New Year holidays. In any case if you happen to live in a region with cold winter or visit such region in winter make sure that you try local mulled wine. In most of Europe this drink is commonly served during winter celebrations and it is a completely magic feeling to walk snowy the streets of Prague or Hamburg with a cup of hot mulled wine.
