Boozin’ Blog

Nothing says the holidays to me quite like hot spiced wine. I first encountered the stuff in Germany during the ’92 Christmas season. Every year the Germans set up Christmas markets. These are big, outdoor markets consisting of lots of little stands selling all sorts of Christmas gifts and decorations. And about every third stand has a big hot tank of spiced wine that they sell by the cup. Ever since then I’ve made hot spiced wine part of my Christmas season.

Finding spiced wine isn’t always possible. Sometimes I can locate a bottle or two but just as often I wind up making my own. It’s quite easy to make. I buy a semi-sweet red – those huge one gallon bottles on the bottom shelf work great. It doesn’t have to be really good wine, the spices will cover up the flavors and subtleties that separate jug wine from fine wine.

The spices are the typical holiday mixture that one would expect – cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, etc. I like to buy them whole for the wine. This way it’s easier to pour or dip the wine away with the spices and there aren’t bits of spice in the drink. If I have a week or two I just drop the spices in the jug, seal it up and store it. But it works just as well to pour the wine into a crock pot, add the spices and leave on low for a few hours. Sometimes I like to add fresh fruit – anything from cranberries to apples to oranges can be nice.

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