Mulled Red Wine with Muscovado Sugar
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become quite the wine connoisseur and fearless in my choices. As an extreme novice I shied away from Red wine not understanding it doesn’t belong in the fridge. Once the learning started, the world of wine opened up. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but the optimist in me chooses to believe it’s GOOD! The delicate tones of a Merlot compared to the bubbly delights of a Riesling can compliment the best Ribeye or the perfect Salmon. Not only am I an optimist, but I am adventurous when it comes to food and libations, so imagine my delight when I stumbled across this Mulled Red Wine by Marcia Kiesel. Armed with the perfect glass as my weapon, I took no prisoners! Enjoy!
CONTRIBUTED BY MARCIA KIESEL
- Faced with two half-empty bottles of Zinfandel, F&W Test Kitchen supervisor Marcia Kiesel came up with this warm mulled wine, spiced with fennel seeds and cinnamon.
Have I mentioned my love of a good bottle of wine? As
- Two 750-milliliter bottles (or the equivalent) fruity red wine, such as Zinfandel or Merlot
- Zest strips from 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups muscovado sugar or other dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, lightly crushed
- One 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- Put the peppercorns, fennel seeds and cinnamon in a large tea ball or wrap them in cheesecloth and secure them with kitchen string. In a large saucepan, combine the aromatics with the wine, bay leaves and orange zest. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the aromatics and orange zest strips. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Serve warm, in glasses or mugs.
MAKE AHEAD Once cooled, the mulled wine can be poured into a pitcher and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently.
- FROM HOLIDAY WINE GAME PLAN
- PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 200
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