The best places to try mulled wine in Europe

Irrespective of country and culture, a huge part of winter, more so in cold countries, is mulled wine. It is usually infused hot red wine that combines warm spices and citrus, and is undoubtedly the season’s most evocative symbol of history, tradition and community.

There’s no denying that mulled wine plays a major role in Christmas markets, but it enjoys a significant presence outside of them and enjoyed as long as winter lasts, which can sometimes be as late as March.

On Queen’s Walk on river Thames in London, the Southbank Winter Market, which usually opens in the first week of November each year, is a shimmering vision. It is set against the backdrop of the city’s lights and glistening reflections in the river, all of which adds to the dreamy atmosphere. Making it even more heady is the intoxicating angel’s share, evaporated wine with the distinct smell of spices that hangs in the air like a cloud. The classic one is deep red wine with floating cinnamon and star anise. Served in a small mug, the very first sip is proof why it signifies the holiday season.

The origin of mulled wine is not only innocuous, but was a factor of necessity. Wine (predominantly red) was heated with spices during the Roman times to help with digestion and to keep the body warm during the cold winter months. It contained many staples that are still considered kitchen remedies such as pepper, bay leaves, ginger and honey, as well as dates and walnuts. A combination of these also helped extend the shelf-life of the wine without oxidising.

But it was only during the Middle Ages that the beverage experienced sudden popularity and made the transition to a seasonal staple. With the rapid expansion of global exploration, new ingredients made their way back home and ended up in the wine. These included cinnamon and cloves, followed by cardamom and citrus fruits, and much more. Around this time, it gave rise the tradition of serving hot, spicy wine as part of winter festivities in Northern and Eastern Europe. From there, it spread everywhere.

As it travelled across the continent and beyond, mulled wine shape-shifted to accommodate local customs, practices and ingredients and cloned itself into several different varieties. At its simplest, mulled wine has a red wine base to which spices (cinnamon, cloves and star anise) and citrus fruits (orange and lime), are added and gently heated, but care is taken never to let it boil or bubble over. But spices such as ginger, pepper and cardamom, fruits such as apples and pears, and other ingredients like raisins, walnuts, almonds and dates have also found their way into the concoction.

In Germany, mulled wine is called gluhwein (literally, glowing wine) and is consumed in humungous quantities. Made with traditional German reds such as Spatburgunder, it is warmed usually with oranges, cloves, cinnamon and star anise to make a piquant end product that is tingly on the tongue and makes a fiery path as it goes down. It makes a particularly arresting image in medieval markets such as the one in Esslingen where it is heated in cauldrons, evoking scenes from Shakespeare and Asterix comics. But away from the cold, it is best enjoyed with sausages in Munich's Gartnerplatz Alm restaurant.

And if that’s not enough, Nuremburg has something even more dramatic called feuerzangenbowle or mulled wine on fire. A little sugarloaf soaked in rum is set fire on top mulled wine and the caramelised sugar is allowed to drip into the wine and then served. This is usually found in holiday markets that run till January. So entrenched is gluhwein in the German scheme of things that when the pandemic ravaged the world and gatherings were banned in December 2020, ad hoc gluhwein stalls popped up in parks and street corners despite strict rules, much to the despair of the authorities.

Nordic countries call their version glogg, and is a mix of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and orange peel as well as sliced almonds and raisins. Sometimes, the dried fruits are soaked overnight in brandy or aquavit, providing the mulled wine with an additional kick. In Denmark, in addition to the above ingredients, a bit of rum or schnapps is directly added to the wine for extra oomph. Try it at Nimb Bar in Copenhagen. Sweden, however, bucks the trend and makes its mulled wine predominantly with white wine, and serves it with saffron-laced buns. Several bars in Gamla Stan (old town) offer this.

In Italy, mulled wine is officially vino caldo (hot wine) but goes by the more popular term vin bruhle, borrowed from French. The wine is very much of Italian terroir with fruity overtones: Valpolicella from around Verona, Dolcetto from Piedmont and Schiava from Alto Adige. These are warmed in the company of citrus peels, apple and pear slices, juicy plums, juniper berries, along such spices such as cloves, cinnamon and star anise. Sample them at Spirito di Vino or Enoteca Trastevere in Rome. In much of Spain, fruity Tempranillo is used for mulled wine. The best place to taste it is at Madrid's Vinicola Mentridana.

The French, like their cuisine, tend to elevate their mulled wine; it is called vin chaud (hot wine) and tends to be drier. Since most regions produce their own specific wines, each prefers to stick to the regional speciality, such as Pinot Noir in Alsace, Syrah in the Northern Rhone, Grenache in Southern Rhone and Merlot in the Southwest. Have a swig at either La Jacobine or Little Red Door in Paris.

Clearly, mulled wine is Europe’s heady seasonal heartbeat that returns every winter, bringing with it a sense of rich and fragrant nostalgia.

Anita Rao Kashi is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru.