Nowadays, Gluhwein is a very famous hot drink in Germany during the 4 to 5 weeks before Christmas. It is served on all the Christmas Markets you can find in all cities. But you can also buy it cold in bottles in a supermarket or make some yourself. Last year, about 50 million litres had been consumed in Germany alone!

The roots of the Gluhwein are not to be found in a dark kitchen of a medieval monastery or besides a camp fire of the ancient Germans. No, it was invented in ancient Rome. Roman citizen Marcus Gavius Apicius published the first recipe in his book “De re coquinaria – About Cooking” where he mentioned the “Conditum Paradoxum” for the first time.

During the Middle Ages, cold spiced wines were popular, e.g. Clairet or Hippocras. The ingredients were already similar to today’s Glühwein.

The basic recipe for today’s Mulled Wine is the following:

Heat one bottle of dry red wine in a cooking pot. It is extremely important to not boil the wine as the alcohol will evaporate as soon as the wine reaches a temperature over 80°C. That’s approximately 175°F.

Cut one lemon into slices and add it to the heated wine. After that, add two sticks of cinnamon, three cloves, three tablespoons of sugar and a little cardamon or ginger (try what you prefer).

Heat everything for another 5 minutes – still do not boil – and let it slowly cool down for about an hour. Before serving, reheat the mulled whine. Serve in preheated glasses or mugs.

If you do not like red wine, you could also use white wine. Or some fruity variants with apple wine, cherry wine or whatever you might want to try.

If you want to make a Glühwein without alcohol, you can use fruit juices like cherry juice or any berry juice. That way, even children can drink it safely.