German spiced wine

Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! A few years ago, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend three weeks of December in Munich to learn German and visit some friends. I'd previously been to Germany in June, which is gorgeous, but Germany at Christmastime is just magical. Everywhere you look, there are fairy lights, Christmas trees, and most importantly: Weihnachtsmaerkte (Christmas markets).

The Christmas markets in Germany are just amazing. Apparently, the Nuremberg markets are the best, but the ones in Munich and Passau are pretty awesome. Every Christmas market has Lebkuchen (gingerbread), Christmas ornaments, Flammbrot (amazing flat breads with cheese and bacon and onions and all sorts of other toppings), but most importantly: Gluehwein. I'm sure most people are familiar with mulled or spiced wine. Although I have to admit, I've never had American-style spiced wine. But when I had the Gluehwein in Germany, I was blown away. Each stall has their own mugs that the wine comes in; some are these cute little boot-shaped mugs, some are just standard Christmasy mugs, and others say the name of the Christmas market. But no matter what it comes in, German spiced wine is steaming hot and full of flavor. It was so good, I brought home two liters of the stuff for my parents that year.

Since that trip, it has become a Christmas Eve tradition for me to make spiced wine and I will be making two big bottles of it tonight for my husband's family because last year, one bottle just wasn't enough. And if there's any left over from tonight, we can save it and re-heat it for Christmas dinner

The trick to this recipe is to make sure the wine doesn't ever boil. You'll want to slowly bring the wine to a simmer, otherwise you'll boil off all of the alcohol (and that's just no fun). You'll also want a somewhat cheap bottle of red wine. It should be a wine with a decent sugar content, but not a sweet/dessert wine. Definitely not a dry wine.

Gluehwein (German Spiced Wine)

For each 750 mL bottle of wine:
1 bottle of cheap-ish red wine (tonight we're using Barefoot brand merlot)
1 stick of cinnamon
6 whole cloves
1 whole orange
2 T sugar
1 cardamon pod (optional, I have also used 1 t ground cardamon)
1 of (optional):

• rum
• brandy
• vodka
• schnapps

Break the cinnamon sticks into 3 or 4 pieces. Slice the orange into thin rounds. If it's a large orange, slice it in half and then do your slices; these slices are great for garnish when serving.

In a saucepot over medium-low heat, combine wine, spices, sugar and orange slices. Heat for 30-60 minutes, covered, DO NOT BOIL. Heating for longer will bring out more of the spices and as long as you don't boil the wine, you won't lose too much alcohol. Taste the wine and adjust the sugar if needed. Serve with one of the orange slices and, if desired, a shot of liquor/schnapps.

Remove the spices and reduce the heat to low if all of the wine is not served right away. If there are leftovers, carefully pour back into the bottle and refrigerate. To re-heat, simply heat on medium-low heat in a saucepot as before.