Mulling Around

So anyone who follows me on twitter, knows I love my wine. I have been a wine drinker for all of my adult life- and by adult life, I mean that I was past the point of using a fake ID, chugging goldschlager or any pink concoction served in a giant tub and buying giant bottles of vodka made out of plastic. I usually choose a nice white wine and have a red on occasion.

Something people find a little strange, is that I prefer my wine out of a coffee mug. Sure I have plenty of lovely wine glasses, but they lack the stability and size a wino such as myself really need. I’m sure there is a reason to drink wine from a glass. Something about the tannins or the notes, but I don’t really care, I like my wine with a handle.

Why did I start drinking wine from a coffee mug?
Mulled wine.

If you are not familiar, I want to introduce you all to a holiday favorite of mine. A couple of years ago a friend brought some mulled wine to a potluck and my life was forever changed! It’s like wine infused with Christmas!

Okay, so first off buy yourself a bottle of red wine (by the way, you can also use apple cider). It doesn’t have to be the best and it can even be the worst. I usually go with a 2 buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s.

I like to buy a prepackaged mulling spice from Williams Sonoma or Trader Joe’s (although, I have been stalking TJ’s for a month now and it’s not in yet), but you can also make your own by combining cloves, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and orange peel. Here is a good recipe from Sheknows.com

Then empty your wine into a pot, put the spice into cheesecloth (or you can just put the spices straight into the pot and strain it at the end, but I like the cheese cloth option better) and warm it all up. You don’t want it to be boiling, but you do want it to be steaming, I usually just heat it up in about 6 minutes and then turn it down to low and let it sit all night (for the next hour while I finish it off). Meanwhile, you kitchen will smell absolutely divine!