HONOLULU (KHON2) — Mulled wine is a wonderfully festive way to celebrate the winter months. Chock full of yummy spices, this delicious beverage is a great way to cozy up with friends and a movie.
To learn more about what wines make the best mixture, we caught up with Mark Cartland who is the Sommelier and wine director at Island Vintage Wine Bars.
“Who doesn’t like a nice mulled wine during the holidays?” he asked, teasing the obvious answer. “There is no such thing as mulled wine alchemy,” Cartland further explained. “You have to use a good product, a base product, to achieve a good end product.”
In other words, just like a chef wouldn’t use the cheapest ingredients for a great dish, a great mulled wine starts with a good wine.
Cartland recommends choosing a wine that you’re comfortable drinking on its own.
“You wouldn’t want to use a bad wine for mulled wine,” he explained. “If you put in a nice base, like this [wine], you’re going to achieve a really wonderful result.”
For a solid mulled wine, Cartland suggested Saint Cosme Côtes du Rhône, a red wine produced by Château de Saint Cosme, located in the southern Rhône Valley in France. This wine is known for its traditional winemaking practices and focus on quality, making Saint Cosme’s Côtes du Rhône is typically a blend of Grenache, Syrah and other permitted grape varieties.
“This one is a Grenache-Syrah blend. It has a lot of nice flavors that will blend together well when you add fruit, cinnamon, and other spices,” he said. “It’s going to give you a beautiful, really tasty wine.”
Cartland’s advice is clear: don’t use the cheapest wine you can find, especially those bottles sitting on the bottom shelf.
“If you put in that low-quality wine, I don’t know if you’re going to get anything good out of it,” he cautioned. “I won’t even drink it myself.”
Once you’ve chosen your base wine, the fun begins. Cartland’s recipe involves a simple combination of spices and fruits that transform a regular bottle of wine into a flavorful holiday drink.
“Add your cinnamon, your cloves, your orange peel. Those ingredients really give it that warm, cozy feeling you want during the holidays,” he suggested.
But Cartland isn’t just about following recipes; he encourages experimentation.
“Play with it,” he said. “Add different fruits or try some ginger or star anise if you like. There’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ formula. You just make sure the wine is something you enjoy,” he advised.
With Cartland’s advice, making mulled wine doesn’t need to be complicated. Start with a quality wine, add your favorite spices and fruits and you’re all set to enjoy a festive, flavorful drink.
As Cartland put it, “It’s the holidays. Make it something special.”
Here’s an easy, step-by-step mulled wine recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle of red wine.
- 1 orange (slice it into rounds).
- 1/4 cup sugar or honey.
- 2 cinnamon sticks.
- 4 whole cloves.
- 2 star anise (optional).
- 1/4 cup brandy (optional).
Instructions:
- Heat the wine: Pour the wine into a large pot or saucepan. Set it over low heat, and don’t let it boil!
- Add flavorings: Toss in the orange slices, sugar (or honey), cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise. Stir gently.
- Simmer: Let it heat gently for 10–15 minutes. Keep it below a boil to preserve the flavors.
- Optional brandy: Stir in the brandy if you’re using it.
- Serve: Ladle into mugs or heatproof glasses. Garnish with an orange slice or a cinnamon stick if you like.
You can click here to learn more about Island Vintage’s wine bars in Waikiki, Kapolei and soon to be on Maui in 2025.
Enjoy your warm, cozy mulled wine!