Emulsifier Free Mulled Wine (Glühwein)
Warm, spiced, and deeply aromatic, this classic German mulled wine is exactly what cold-weather evenings call for. A bottle of dry red wine gets gently coaxed with cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves, and fresh citrus rounds into something that smells like a holiday market and tastes even better. The beauty of making it from scratch is that every single ingredient is whole, real, and recognizable — no stabilizers, no additives, nothing hiding in a pre-made spice packet or bottled mix. For anyone avoiding emulsifiers, that kind of ingredient transparency is genuinely hard to find in a ready-to-drink product, and this recipe delivers it effortlessly. A splash of brandy deepens the flavor, while a little sugar lets you dial in the sweetness exactly to your taste. The key is keeping the heat low and patient — you want fragrant steam, not a rolling boil — so the wine stays silky and the spices have time to fully bloom. Ladle it through a strainer into your favorite mugs and you've got a cozy, crowd-pleasing drink that's as clean and simple as it gets.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine (such as merlot, pinot noir, or dornfelder)
- 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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