Artificial Food Coloring Free Mulled Wine (Glühwein)

Total time30 min

Prep time5 min

Cook time25 min

Artificial Food Coloring Free Mulled Wine (Glühwein)

Warm, spiced, and deeply aromatic, this classic German mulled wine is exactly what a cold evening calls for. Bottled and packaged versions of this drink often rely on artificial colorings and flavor enhancers to achieve that rich, ruby glow — but here, the color comes entirely from the wine itself, deepened by a long, slow simmer with whole spices and fresh citrus. Cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom do all the heavy lifting, filling your kitchen with a scent that feels genuinely festive. The brandy adds a gentle warmth and rounds out the edges without overpowering the fruit. Because every single ingredient is whole, fresh, or naturally derived, there's no label-reading anxiety — just real, honest flavor from start to finish. A fine-mesh strainer at the end keeps things clean and elegant, so what lands in your mug is nothing but pure, velvety spiced wine. It's the kind of drink that makes guests linger a little longer around the table.

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Ingredients

6 servings

1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine (such as merlot, pinot noir, or dornfelder)
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¼ cup brandy or dark rum
3 tbsp granulated sugar, plus more to taste
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
6 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
4 whole star anise
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
¼ tsp whole black peppercorns (optional)

For serving

orange slices or cinnamon sticks, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1
Combine the red wine, brandy, sugar, orange rounds, lemon rounds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and cardamom pods in a medium saucepan. Add the peppercorns, if using.
2
Warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, until steam rises steadily and small bubbles appear around the edges — about 10 minutes. Do not let the wine boil; reduce the heat to low as soon as it approaches a simmer.

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