It's Never Too Early For Wine Mulling!

The festive season in another month closer and many retailers and Christmas enthusiasts are well underway with their preparations for this year’s winter holiday. One of our favourite things about this time of year (aside from the seasonal fruits) is mulling our very own wine, for a tasty and traditional tipple. If you’re not a big fan of the drink itself, you can still have some fun making some for your friends and family.  
Classic Mulled Wine Recipe
Mulled wine is made using a range of fruits and spices that infuse into the steadily heated wine, as not to boil off the alcohol. The following recipe makes enough for 1-litre bottle so can be easily multiplied for more!

Ingredients

• 2 Oranges
• 2 Lemons
• 3 Star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 whole cloves
• 100ml of honey
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 250ml apple cider

What You’ll Need

• A large pan
• Wooden Spoon
• A peeler
• Measuring Jug
• 1x litre bottle

Recipe

1. Add the cider and honey to your pan on a low heat and warm through until bubbling and slightly reduced.
2. While the cider is reducing, peel skin directly from your oranges and lemons, small pieces of about 3cm in length are ideal.
3. Pour your red wine into the pan along with your freshly peeled citrus skin, turn the heat down and stir gently for 2 minutes.
4. Next, add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise, turn the heat down even more and leave to infuse for 20 minutes, being careful not to boil the wine.
5. Sieve your wine into a large measuring jug and leave to cool completely.
6. Bottle your wine and leave in your pantry for as long as you can resist! The spices infused in the wine will keep it from spoiling and the longer you leave it, the more intense the flavour becomes.

If you’re not a huge fan of mulled wine, you can use the same recipe using 700mls of cider in place of the wine and 250ml of a liquor, such as Grand Marnier or brandy, in place of the cider. Make sure you’ve got all the bottles you need for this festive season simply order your supplies online today.