Put This In Your Pot and Mull It

For spending a snowy evening at home with your lover, I recommend this hot beverage. The Ancient Greeks considered hot wine to be an aphrodisiac, you know.

Mulled Wine

1 bottle of red wine (I recommend merlot or shiraz )
3 cinnamon sticks, crushed
Peel from one orange, chopped
5 whole cloves, crushed
5 allspice berries, crushed
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup brandy or cognac (more or less to taste)

Place the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and orange peel into the center of a disposable coffee filter, fold up, and tie into a bundle with cotton string. Set aside.

Pour the wine into a crock pot or saucepan, add the bundle of herbs, and heat gently over low heat until very hot. Add the vanilla and sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. Cover tightly, and heat on the lowest temperature setting until ready to serve (the longer you heat it, the spicier it will taste and the less alcohol it will have). Never allow it to boil...not even a little bit.

To serve, remove the bundle of herbs and stir in the brandy. Ladle into coffee mugs, and garnish with a slice of orange.

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I’ll admit…it is an acquired taste. If hot wine is not your thing, use apple and/or cranberry juice instead.