How to Fix Bad Merlot

Posted by Chris on October 28, 2008

Just add spices and make mulled wine out of it.  According to Frankie Lane, this is the thing to do and we agree 100%.

her ingredients include

• bad merlot
• cinzano
• amaretto
• sugar
• heat

hmmm.

Thanks, Frankie.

Mulled Wine - 3 Bottles and A Bunch of Sugar

Posted by Chris on August 28, 2008

Lady Knight, a “modern day woman”, posted this mulled wine recipe in July. I like it because it is a recipe for enough mulled wine to easily serve 10 to 15 people but the ingredients seem a little disproportionate.

3 cloves in 3 bottles of wine? Why bother? I like the idea of the juniper berries. 900g caster sugar? Holy…!

Anyway, try it:

Serves: 6-8 (10-15 light drinkers)

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min

Ingredients

2 oranges
2 Lemons
3 x 750ml bottles Red wine
2 vanilla pods, split
1 cinnamon stick
1 litre water
900g caster sugar
3 Cloves
4 Juniper berries
1 bay leaf

Method

1. Peel the rind from the oranges and lemons and squeeze the juice from the fruit.

2. Combine the rind and juice in a large pot and add the remaining ingredients. Gently bring the mixture to the boil, then leave for 10 minutes to infuse. Serve warm.

Mulled Wine with Kirsch

Posted by Chris on April 17, 2008

Deliathecrone posted this recipe for Mulled Wine with Kirsch on Group Recipes. Doused with brandy, if this mulled wine recipe does not keep you warm from head to toe, then you just need to put some more clothes on. Wow, this looks delicious. I think I can smell it from here.

Ingredients

• 2 bottles light-bodied red wine
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 black peppercorns, crushed
• 2 cardamom pods, crushed
• One 3-inch cinnamon stick, crushed
• 1 clove, crushed
• 1/2 cup kirsch

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the red wine with the sugar and the orange and lemon zests.
2. Put the spices in a tea ball and add to the saucepan.
3. Bring the wine to a very slow simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. Remove from the heat, discard the tea ball and stir in the kirsch.
5. Ladle the spiced wine into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
6. MAKE AHEAD
7. The spiced wine can be kept overnight at room temperature.
8. Reheat before serving.

It is a bit labor-intensive for my tastes but I am sure it is worth it. Let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

Bishop’s Wine (Bisschopswijn)

Posted by Chris on

This sweet recipe with the Super-Dutch name is , well, Dutch and is as simple as it gets with only five ingredients - count ‘em and enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 orange
• 8 whole cloves

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan on medium-low heat, combine wine. sugar and cinnamon. Cut the orange in half, push the cloves into the outside of the orange halves, and place them into the wine.
2. Heat SLOWLY on LOW heat for about 30 minutes or until steaming. Do not let it boil. Heat your glasses in warm water before serving.

Use the shortest recipe you can find but it still takes way longer to make it than using Jodlers Gluhwein Mix, which allows you to make mulled wine in under a minute. I just had to throw that in.

Mulled Wine Gravy

Posted by Chris on April 2, 2008

ok, this is just plain interesting. I have never heard of mulled wine gravy and it strikes me as one of those “don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it” recipes so here it is in all its dark rich glory from Rubyberries Recipes.

Mulled Wine Gray

Serves 6
Preparation time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1tbsp plain flour
• 300ml Asda mulled wine
• 300g pot fresh chicken stock

Method

1 Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the turkey’s roasting tin and place on the hob over a medium heat. Stir the plain flour into the turkey juices and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

2 Remove from the heat and gradually pour in the wine and chicken stock, stirring constantly. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes until the gravy thickens. Season to taste and strain into a warmed jug.

Please please please let us know if you try this.

Mulled Wine Porto Quickie

Posted by Chris on January 22, 2008

This sounds really delicious! You have to try it! I happen to be in Denver right now and was inspired to Google “mulled wine Colorado” and came across this mulled wine recipe from Sprig.

If you cannot find the Port mentioned in this recipe, get another one and give it a shot.

Port-Infused Mulled Wine

Ingredients:
2 bottles of inexpensive dry red wine
1 cup (8 oz.) Fonseca organic Porto
4 tablespoons organic honey
3 organic tangerines
Small handful of cloves
Large pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
4 sticks cinnamon
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Utensils:
Large pot
Ladle
Zester or grater

1. Add red wine, porto and honey to pot and bring to low simmer. Stick cloves into tangerines like a pin cushion and add to the pot along with nutmeg, cinnamon, and half the lemon zest and raisins. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until mulled wine becomes powerfully aromatic.

2. To serve, ladle into mugs and garnish with raisins, a pinch of lemon zest, and a cinnamon stick.

Enjoy!

Mulled Wine with Cardamom, Raisinis, and Almonds

Posted by Chris on November 25, 2007

Try mulled wine recipe one from whats4eats with the raisins and almonds in it and let me know what you think. Under variations, I like the use of the word “bracing.” Bracing is what I usually do at the beginning of what is looking like a night where I be “testing” a lot of mulled wine recipes. It’s funny how much more colorful my descriptions get as the night goes on - maybe less accurate but more colorful.

Mulled Wine

Yield: 4-5 servings

INGREDIENTS	PREP	AMOUNT
Red wine		1 bottle
Sugar		3-5 Tbsp
Cinnamon sticks		2-4 each
Cloves		4-6 each
Cardamom pods		3-4 each
Orange peel		1 each

METHOD

1. Place all ingredients in a pot and slowly bring to a simmer over a low flame. Do not boil. Cover and let steep on a very low flame for about 15 minutes.
2. Strain, if desired, ladle into mugs and serve.

VARIATIONS

• Add a few shots of cognac or brandy to the wine just before serving for a more bracing beverage.
• Vary the amount of sugar and spices to your taste.
• Drop a couple raisins and an almond or two in each glass if you like.

Enjoy!