Many years ago, I tried the Scandinavian mulled wine called glögg for the first time and simply loved it. It’s a wonderful warm drink made from using a dry or fruity red wine that is steeped with spices and dried fruit. It’s such a treat to enjoy while keeping warm around a holiday bonfire or sitting in front of a crackling fire at home on a cold winter’s night.
The key is to use a wine that is not too bold or expensive. I have seen some recipes that have used lovely Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir, but the ideal wine to use is a Beaujolais, Merlot or a Spanish Garnacha, which is my absolute favorite. The reason I prefer Garnacha is because it is very fruity with heavy notes of plum and blackberry, that adds even more flavor and fragrance to the final product.
I have seen so many complicated versions, but glögg or glühwein, as it is known in Germany, has very simple ingredients. Some people use a combination of different wines while others use a mixture of wine and brandy. To this they add an assortment of spices which include cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, cardamom pods, dried orange and lemon rind, whole allspice and even fresh ginger.
This is something that I love to make often during the holiday season, so I like to make my spice mixture the beginning of October to last me through the season.
It is important to keep all of the spices whole (and not ground) because ground spices add a murky look to the final product which is not very appealing. This amount usually gives me enough spice mix to make about 5 or 6 batches, which is perfect for what I use during the season. Some people like to add a few slivers of fresh ginger as you steep the wine, but I usually omit this. Ideally it should be sweet but not too sweet. The quantity of sugar that I have provided in the recipe makes it perfectly sweet but not overly so, but feel free to add more if you like yours sweeter. Traditional versions add raisins and almonds, so embellish it with what you will like to enhance your enjoyment of this delicious drink.
Scandinavian Glögg Wine
1 bottle of Beaujolais, Merlot or Garnacha
2 cups of dry port wine or vermouth
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons of spice mix
1 small seedless orange, cut into thin slices
½ cup dried dark raisin or currants **optional
½ cup blanched almonds **optional
Add the wine, port and sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil. Stir to melt the sugar and taste for sweetness. If you would like to add more sugar, add it at this point. Next, turn off the heat and add your spices (either loose or in a sachet of cheesecloth), raisins, almonds and sliced oranges and allow this to steep in the warm wine mixture.
If you add the spice mix loose, make sure you have a very fine sieve to pass the wine through in the end. Allow this to cool completely then remove spice sachet, fruits and nuts. Before serving, reheat the glögg and add back some of the nuts, raisins and orange slices with each serving, the fruit is so delicious and an absolute must.
Glögg Wine Spice Mix
3 tablespoons of dried orange rind
2 tablespoons of dried lemon rind
6 tablespoons of broken cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon of whole allspice
1 tablespoon of cardamom pods
1 tablespoon of whole cloves
I first take the rind of one large orange and one large lemon which I cut into small thick pieces and allow it to dry completely on a little plate in my garden window. I usually get about 2-3 tablespoons of dried rind from the orange and about 1 tablespoon of dried rind from the lemon. Once it is dried, I add it to a plastic bag along with 15 thin cinnamon sticks that I break into small pieces (about 6 tablespoons) by hand or coarsely break up in a spice grinder, 1 tablespoon of whole allspice, 1 tablespoon of whole cardamom pods and 1 tablespoon of cloves. Seal the plastic bag and store this in a small tin on a shelf away from direct light or heat.
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