Ingredients:
- 5-8 whole cloves
- 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 halved vanilla pod (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2-star anise
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 2 bottles of a medium-bodied red (We make our signature mulled wine with The Flying Winemaker, Margaret River, Cabernet Sauvignon)
Cooking Directions:
Peel large strips of the oranges and lemons with a knife or peeler. Start by creating a syrup base for the mulled wine with your spices.
Syrup base:
Add the orange and lemon peels with the sugar and heat in a pot. Squeeze some of the orange juice into the mix.
Add the ground cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and ground nutmeg. Add just a touch of your red wine, just to cover your sugar and spice mixture. Simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved then bring to a boil for 5 minutes or until the mixture looks like a syrup.
A great thing about this syrup base is you could always make this ahead of time cutting down on prep time during the holiday season, or for a top up at a party!
On low heat, add in the star anise to your syrup base. Then pour in your choice red wine. Heat for another 5-7 minutes until your mulled wine is hot, then serve.
If you are feeling festive add 90ml of dark rum at the end to spice things up a little.