Authentic Glühwein Recipe for German Christmas Wine.
Once the days start becoming shorter and the holiday of Christmas is getting closer, there is nothing cozier than curling up next to a fireplace with a very small cup of warmed Glühwein that has aromatics mixed into it.
The cozy feeling of the Christmas season is brought to your mouth in the form of a wine that has been mulled with spices.
What exactly is Christmas Wine in Germany?
Winter is the one season in which the nations of northern Europe excel above and beyond those of any other region.
A multitude of candles, warm baked buns straight from the oven, saunas, and mulled wine are just some of the ways in which many cultures celebrate the chilly, dark season.
Every nation and even every area has its own unique take on the traditional Christmas beverage. Glühwein is the name given to mulled wine in Germany, and its name literally translates to “glow wine.”
Glühwein is a joyful drink that symbolizes the holiday season and is traditionally offered at the renowned German Christmas markets. It is known for its ability to warm you up from the inside out.
Making Glühwein at Home
This festive beverage is quite simple to recreate at home, and it results in a bright and cheery little treat that is perfect for passing around to visitors at a Christmas party or for sipping while cuddled up with a nice book.
You may take the concept of mulled wine and run with it by adding your favorite warm spices such as cardamom, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon sticks, or orange slices. Traditional Glühwein is quite straightforward, but you can take the idea and run with it.
To get started, seek for a dry red wine that does not have an excessive amount of tannins. Because you are going to be heating the wine, choosing a wine that is not tannic or that has not been aged in wood will prevent it from acquiring characteristics that are unpleasant.
Glühwein is best made with full-bodied wines that emphasize red and black fruit, such as merlot, dornfelder, trollinger, zweigelt, or zinfandel. Other excellent options include zweigelt.
Warm the wine up in a saucepan with the aromatics of your choice, but under no circumstances should you allow it to boil. You don’t want to really boil the wine, but you do want it to simmer long enough for the ingredients to get infused.
You may also add a dash of hard liquor to the glowing wine in order to make it even more glowing. The two most promising possibilities are rum and amaretto. This extra, which is completely optional, is put in at the very end to fill up the glass.
German Glühwein Recipe
As you drink this mulled wine, you will feel as if you have been whisked away to one of the joyous Christmas markets in Germany, where you will be greeted with a warm hug and flushed cheeks. This recipe yields about eight servings that are each 4 ounces in size.
A pot containing Gluhwein wine together with oranges and cinnamon.
Ingredients
- A piece of ginger root that is fresh.
- 1 orange
- 1/4 of a cup of water
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
- 20 cloves that are uncut
- 2 sticks of cinnamon in total
- three complete star anises
- 1 bottle of dry red wine, 750 milliliters in capacity
- To finish off a glass, add amaretto or rum (optional)
Instructions
Remove the peels from the fresh ginger and throw them away. Crush the ginger root by applying pressure with the flat side of your knife to your hand while holding the ginger root. Set aside.
Create long strips of orange peel with a vegetable peeler, being careful to eliminate the white pith, and put these strips aside. You may juice half of the orange and put the juice in a separate container once you’ve cut the orange in half.
Combine the water and sugar in a big pot that isn’t reactive, then bring to a boil and stir occasionally until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Turn the heat down and stir in the star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, half of the conserved orange peels, orange juice, and the knob of ginger. Simmer until the aromatics release their scent and the sugar water begins to transform into a syrup, which should take around 10 minutes.
After turning the heat down to a low setting, pour in the red wine. Maintain a low simmer for anything between half an hour and two hours on the lowest setting. The longer you let the wine age, the more complex and savory it will become.
After straining the mixture, serve it in individual glass mugs and top each one with a curl of orange peel and a splash of amaretto or rum to finish it off.
Cozy Up With Glühwein
This traditional winter beverage is the ideal thing to warm yourself with on those brisk evenings leading up to the start of the Christmas season.
Create a batch to serve at your next get-together; the aromatic spices will fill the space in your kitchen with the comforting mood of the holiday season.
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