Spiced / Mulled Wine help for a Newbie ...

Greetings To start off with, I know next to nothing about wine. And I am not a baker, so knowing which spices to blend to get a specific flavor is beyod me.

I do however live in Canada and enjoy winter. I also read a lot of Fantasy novels, and in each one, the heroes invariably have to endure a cold trek across some mountain and end up at an Inn where they immediately warm themsleves with some hot spiced wine.

Over the years, i have created a vision in my head of what this Wine would taste/smell like. I am hoping that someone here may be able to create a recipe for me that will fit my ideas ...

I have searched the Internet for a while, and yes, there are a huge amount of Spiced Wine recipes out there, but not a single one tells me what it smells or tastes like.

What I am aiming for ....
Color of a dark Red Wine ...
I have always envisioned an aroma of a pleasant, but not overpowering Grapeyness with a gentle cinnamon and spice (maybe a clove/all-spice) overtone ...
The flavor of a Smooth (not acidic or dry, but not overly sweet either) Red Wine with the subtle spicy kick of Drambuie ...
A gentle citrus blended in - maybe a peppery orange - would also be in there somehow as well.

Also, I really would prefer to use Honey instead of Sugar since Honey and a thicker sweetness to it.
Lower alchohol contents are prefered, so mixing with Rums or other high-octane ingredients is something I would like to avoid.

Batches will also be small ... probably only a single bottle (750ml to 1Liter) of wine per batch since I rarely have more than 2 or 3 guests at any time.

If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I have never made mulled wine, so I'm not going to be much help. (And you're not asking for much, are you? ) There was a recent thread in the Wine Forum on this very topic. I'll go see if I can find the link for you. Some of the people who posted to that thread may be able to help.

But I wanted to welcome you to the Forum, Richard! There are lots of really friendly, helpful, and talented folks here. (I'm just not apparently one of them! )

And here's the link: RCP: Mulled Red Wine

well, richard, you've set yourself up to take a bit of a fall - i think. i mean you have in your mind what you want, but ask what it is supposed to be like. you have two choices. 1) make it using the most usual ingredients in the recipes you have found. 2) make it the way you describe - using honey, orange and add spices slowly till it smells as you imagine it. or use half a bottle and make both and compare. this is one of those myriad cases where you can't make a mistake - do whatever pleases you. people will like it (or not) not matter how it is done. but be sure to have fun. btw, since you are cooking it, the alcohol evaporates anyway; so if you think the flavor of rum or brandy or whatever sounds useful, then use it. just add at the beginning rather than the end so it cooks off somewhat.

That's were the problem lies though Daivd ... I don't have a clue which spices will add which flavors to it. when it comes to belnding spices with foods, I am compeltely clueless. I have a 3 bottles of premixed seasoning - 1 each for fish, poultry and beef. That's it. I'm willing to buy whatever I need, but I can't just buy a jar or packet of every single spice at the supermarket and start eperminting like some mad scientist ...

The recipes I have found all look interesting, but none fo them tell me te difference between each recipe ... is the first sweeter or spicier ... and what type of spicy is it? ... what is the difference between using a lemon or an orange in the recipe ... or both as some ask for ...

hence my describing what I am searching for, hoping that someone here might have somethign close to what I was looking for. I've never had Spiced wine before, so i don't know what it tastes like to begin wiht, and being a fairly non-drinker, I don't really want to start making batch after batch of experiments and having to dump it all downt he drain if it isn't even close to what i am looking for ...

Richard -

Welcome! The recipe Cynthia posted ought to make for a good start. I'd probably leave the sugar out and start with maybe 1/3 cup of honey and then add more if it needs to be sweeter. Leaving the brandy out also sounds like it would get closer to what you're looking for. Ths spices she lists are classic ones for mulled wine, so I think they ought to be good.

I'd say give it a try with something like a Ravenswood Vintner's Blend zinfandel and see what you think. And please let us know how it turns out.