“Mulled red wine — cinnamon, clove, star anise, orange peel, sugar — heated to 70°C, never boiled. Christmas-market staple.”
Where it comes from
Mulling wine traces to Roman conditum paradoxum (Apicius, 1st century AD); the modern French Christmas-market vin chaud crystallized with the 19th-century revival of marchés de Noël in Strasbourg, Colmar, and the Alsace circuit. Now ubiquitous in any French winter market.
On the plate
Deep ruby, steaming, ABV around 8-10% (some alcohol cooks off). Cinnamon and clove forward, orange in the back, sugar tames the wine's tannin. Served in 200 mL paper or ceramic cups, hand-warming. Drink while still hot — turns medicinal cold.
How it works
Hold below 78°C — ethanol's boiling point — to keep the alcohol; below boiling also stops tannin from going harsh. Use cheap, fruit-forward wine (Côtes du Rhône, Beaujolais), not aged Burgundy — heat ruins delicate aromatics. Steep spices 15-20 minutes; longer goes bitter from clove.
Strasbourg's Christkindelsmärik (running since 1570) is the largest French Christmas market and ground zero for Alsatian vin chaud — local producers like Wolfberger sell hot-wine kits. In Alsace some versions use Pinot Noir or Gewürztraminer (vin chaud blanc) instead of southern reds.
Variations
Vin chaud rouge (the standard, Côtes du Rhône or Beaujolais base); Vin chaud blanc (Alsatian, with Riesling or Gewürztraminer); Vin chaud d'Alsace (heavier on clove and orange, sometimes with eau-de-vie); Hypocras (medieval ancestor, served cold, with ginger and grains of paradise).
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
4 steps · Show ↓26 min active
How it's made
4 steps · Show ↓- 13 min
Combine 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine + 100 g sugar + 1 orange sliced + 1 lemon sliced in a pot.
- 21 min
Add 2 cinnamon sticks + 4 cloves + 2 star anise + 1 vanilla pod.
- 312 min
Warm gently to 70 °C — DO NOT BOIL or alcohol burns off.
- 410 min
Hold at 70 °C 10 min to infuse; ladle into mugs with a citrus slice.
