There's one thing I always wait for from the moment Daniel and I book our European winter vacation. You'll be surprised, it's not the crazy-sale shopping 🙂

The real star of my winter vacation is the hot mulled wine. The same drink that can be bought in European winter markets, especially around Christmas.

As someone who suffers from the cold and is still unwilling to skip winter vacation, I decided to adopt the hot mulled wine as my sidekick on cold winter days. With all due respect to the coat, scarf and wool hat – none of them do the job like mulled wine.

There’s something comforting about mulled wine. It warms the body from the outside and the inside, lifting your mood and as a bonus, even leaves your lips slightly stained in the color of a winter burgundy.

This year I decided that there’s no reason to reduce the consumption of mulled wine only to the short visits to the winter markets. So it's true that in Israel we don’t celebrate Christmas, and yes, the winter here is also much less colder than the European winter. But there’s no reason why I shouldn’t indulge in a cup of hot mulled wine on the couch in the evening, and even at this very moment while I’m writing this post 😉

Even if you’ve never tasted hot mulled wine, you've probably already figured out what it's all about. This comforting drink is traditionally made from wine {usually red}, a sweetener and a mixture of spices that usually includes cinnamon, star anise, cloves and nutmeg. It has different nicknames around the world and sometimes the ensemble is slightly different, but everyone agrees that this is the base for the warm wine.

The hot mulled wine can be prepared quickly and easily at home. Simply pour red wine into a pot, add the spices and sweetener and simmer for about 20 minutes.

… and let's not talk about the addictive smell that fills the house!

Here are 3 tips that will make your hot mulled wine perfect:

→ You can get away with cheap wine in this case. It’s a shame to spend a lot of money on a strong hearty wine that’s full of flavors only to change the flavor with dominant spices.

→ Fresh spices enhance the taste of the hot mulled wine. Don’t compromise for spices pre-packed on the shelf.

→ Don’t rush it. Let the wine cook slowly in a pot with a closed lid on low heat.

If you want to spice things up even more, you should try these 5 special recipes for hot mulled wine that I gathered from the Pinterest…

{Click on the photos to get the full recipes! 🙂 }

1. The Classic German Mulled Wine, Gløgg  –

Because you cannot go wrong with the classic version.

2. Hot mulled wine with blackberries –

Because blackberry infused with wine sounds like a delicacy.

3. Hot mulled White Wine –

Don’t limit yourself only to red wine – white wine can also do the job!

4. Hot mulled wine-cocoa –

It's an interesting combination that I would never have thought of myself! This is exactly why Pinterest was invented – inspiration!

5. Hot mulled wine flavored tea blend –

Staying away from alcohol for medical reasons, or is alcohol just not your cup of tea? Try to prepare this tea blend that promises to be just as tasty as the real thing 🙂

What do you think about hot mulled wine? And which of these amazing recipes would you like to try most? Tell me in the comments 🙂

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