Glühwein--A Warm Christmas Wine from Germany

Hot Mulled Wine

Nov 29, 2008 Jennifer L. Price

Looking for a warm and spicy holiday drink to serve at your Christmas party? Look to Germany's famous offering, glühwein.

German for mulled wine (literally translated it means “glow wine”), glühwein is wine, usually red, combined with different spices and served hot. Also called vin chaud in French and vin brulé in Italian, glühwein is most popular in Germany with the well-known Christkindlmarkts, crowded Christmas markets, visited by thousands each year. The drink provides the perfect beginning, middle, and end to a trip to the market; you are warmed from head to toe and filled with the holiday spirit. It’s also ideal for a winter party or just sitting at home relaxing by the fireplace.

Traditions

The drink began in older times when wine would often go bad or just didn’t come out right. It was discovered that the bad wine mixed with spices and honey was possible to drink again. The tradition carries on every winter season, when savvy drinkers are seen enjoying the special spicy drink at stands during festivals and markets or in cafés and restaurants.

There is no standard recipe for the drink. You’ll find some Glühwein very sweet and citrussy, while another brewer may make the drink with a stronger alcohol taste or more cinnamon. Pretty much everyone agrees, though, that an expensive “good” bottle of wine is unnecessary; just make the drink with an inexpensive bottle (or even wine from a box). Some use a special cone of sugar covered with rum and set on fire above the brew, adding extra sweetness (and more alcohol). Some will add some schnapps (flavored schnapps, such as raspberry, is popular) or Amaeretto to give the drink a “kick”. When ordering in a market, if you order it with “ein Schuβ”, you’ll receive an extra shot of schnapps, which will truly add color to your face and warm you up. The other ingredients in Glühwein range from spices such as cinnamon and cloves to juice (usually apple juice or orange), or even solid fruit pieces—delicious to snack on after finishing your mug.

Enjyoing it YourselfMany German supermarkets sell bottled Glühwein that you can heat up at home or even a type of tea bag filled with the same flavors called Glühfix. These products are available on-line, but it’s also very easy to make the drink in your home, ideal for a winter celebration. As mentioned, there is no standard recipe—the mix of flavors is up to you. There are several recipes available on-line and experimenting with the tastes can also be fun.

Although the special mix of ingredients known as glow wine may have been first created to help deal with “bad wine,” it has become a favorite winter drink that is definitely now a very “good wine” drink.

The copyright of the article Glühwein--A Warm Christmas Wine from Germany in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Jennifer L. Price. Permission to republish Glühwein--A Warm Christmas Wine from Germany in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A Glühwein stand at the Munich Christkindlmarkt.