Vin Brûlé

Vin Brule or Mulled wine is a delicious drink with a spicy and fruity taste. We usually find it in the village markets during the Christmas holidays and it is a good way to warm you up during the winter. It is prepared with spices, citrus peel (orange and lemon), spices as cinnamon, cloves, juniper berries, star anice and obviously the main ingredient is red wine. However, there are some variations of the original mulled wine recipe that involve the addition of ginger and cardamom or the one with apples cut into thin slices and put into the pot together with the other ingredients.
Origins are very ancient, however, if it wasn’t for the Italians, the entire concept of spiced wine would have fallen by the wayside, as it was an Italian monastery, to the brotherhoods of monks, experts in spices, and their initial idea to prepare an invigorating alcoholic drink by flavoring it with spices to counteract the symptoms of colds.
The name Vin brûlé literally means “burnt wine”. The recipe, which in addition to having healing powers was also very good, was then handed down for several centuries but the use of basic ingredients such as citrus fruits, red wine and spices remained unchanged. You can find it all over Europe and not only under different names, Vin brûlé in Italy, Vin Chaud in France, Mulled Wine in Anglo-saxon countries (United Kingdom, The United States, Canada,), Glühwein in Germany and Glogg in Scandinavian countries.
You must have ingredients of excellent quality. The best wine to use is a full-bodied, fruity red wine with an intense aroma. In some area of Northern Italy Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Nero are normally used while in the Northwest of the country Barolo is the base for mulled wine, but also Sangiovese and Lambrusco Gasparossa are good options.

Here’s what you need to make the Italian version:
1 liter of red wine (33.81 us fl oz
100 gr. of sugar (8 tbsp)
Lemon zest
Orange zest
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
2 juniper berries
1 star anise
a pinch of nutmeg

Peel the skin from both the lemon and the orange, taking a little time to remove all of the white parts of the skin. Place all of your ingredients into a saucepan, mixing them all together and then covering them with one liter of wine. Heat the mixture up and stir using a wooden spoon. You need to make sure that the sugar dissolves. Keep on a rolling boil until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup.Once the mixture comes to the boil take a long toothpick and carefully light a flame on the surface of the mixture. Allow the flame to burn for as long as it needs to. When it goes out, your Vin brûlé is ready. Filter the mixture through a colander to remove all the ingredients and then serve while still hot.