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Russian mulled wine (Glintvein)
My parents' Russian mulled wine is a bit of a far cry from glintvein, which in itself is a bastardization of the sweet, strong wine that Germans serve around Christmas. There are no sugar cubes soaked in brandy, and nothing is set on fire. But there is a good deal of cinnamon, orange, cloves, and red wine (my mother insists on only the cheapest bottles, but nothing too dry!), and a generous pour of brandy. This recipe will be enough for 2-4 people. Bring more bottles and scale up the quantities for larger parties.
Servings 4 portions
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of cheap red wine sweet or semi-sweet, but not dry
- 1 orange cut into two halves (leave the skin on)
- 1 lemon
- 12 cloves whole
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- pinch of nutmeg
- sugar to taste
- 50 mls of cognac or brandy
Instructions
- Pour one bottle of semi-sweet, cheap red wine into a large pot, and set it on low-medium heat. Cut an orange into two halves, leaving the skin on. Insert 6 whole cloves into the flesh of each orange half (using 12 cloves in total), and add the orange to the pot of wine. Add lemon to pot.
- While the wine comes to a heat that is near the boiling point (70-80 degrees celsius), add 3 cinnamon sticks, a pinch of nutmeg, and sugar to taste, stirring occasionally. The mulled wine should be pleasantly sweet and warm. Continue cooking on low heat for about 20 minutes, but note that the wine should not be allowed to come to a boil. As soon as the first bubbles appear, immediately turn off the heat and add 50 mls of cognac or brandy (for strength) and immediately cover the pot with a lid.
- Let stand for a few minutes, and then pour the mulled wine into special cups (no thin goblets here, please!)
- My mother would also insist I include her two basic rules for glintvein: "1 - the wine must be the cheapest kind, and semi-sweet or even sweet - the whole aroma and taste of the mulled wine depends on this. 2- avoid boiling the wine - it will kill the mulled wine completely. Nor should the glintvein be cold - it should only be as hot as you can handle! And also - the glasses should be beautiful, transparent, that you can see the beauty of the drink!! Or so I was taught."