Vin Chaud, advent 2018

Vin Chaud

This year I have a few Christmas themed posts to share which I hope will help get me in the festive mood, as once again I find December has crept up on me and taken me by surprise.

Now we have reached advent, as well as having a continually bubbling pot of veggie soup on my hob, I also have my pan of vin chaud, or mulled wine on the go too. Nothing says Christmas is on the way quite like a glass of mulled wine, either wandering around a Christmas market, or cosy and warm indoors and accompanied by a mince pie. It is even my apero of choice at this time of year in the village bar.

It seems spiced red wine has been a thing in Europe for many hundreds of years. The Romans would boil honey and wine and then add spices including pepper, bay leaves and saffron. In the 13^thCentury the ports in the south of France, near Montpellier, where the spices from the Orient arrived by boat, had their own spiced wine recipe that included cloves. Traces of its popularity can be found in Germany and it was enjoyed by Swedish kings too, with the preferred spices being cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and clove. By the end of the 19^thCentury, the link with Christmas and spiced wine was born and Swedish wine merchants began bottling their own house specialities. A warm, spiced wine is now as common a sight at a Christmas market anywhere in Europe as Père Noel.

Here is my recipe, first posted here in December 2012, if you would like to give it a go.

Put one bottle of red wine in a saucepan and add the zest and juice of a Clementine, a small pinch of cloves (about 7), a teaspoon of cinnamon (or a piece of cinnamon stick) and I also always add a lemon and ginger tea bag. 

Give it a good stir then add a generous tablespoon of brown sugar and a small(ish) glass of Cognac. Heat until the sugar has dissolved, but don’t let it reach boiling point and then try a little. When inhaling over the pan you should get a Christmassy tingle in your sinuses and a small sip should be a balanced taste between spicy and sweet. If it isn’t sweet enough or spicy enough keep adding until it tastes just right for you. 

Once you are happy with your mix it will keep all week, just warm it up, serve it and enjoy.