Winters perfect mulled wine

We added an element of warmth to a chilly night with Bursaria Catering serving Mulled Wine to guests on arrival. Served in stunning Waterford glassware, no one just stopped at one! We share this beautiful recipe to enjoy for yourselves.

INGREDIENTS 

2 x orange

1 x lemon

1 x lime

200g caster sugar

6 x whole cloves

1 x cinnamon stick

3 x fresh bay leaves

1 x whole nutmeg, for grating

1 x vanilla pod

2 x star anise

2 x Bottles Red wine

Use a speed-peeler to shave large sections of peel from the orange, lemon and lime.

Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the clementine juice. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and about 10 to 12 gratings of nutmeg. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the pan, then stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.

Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring to the boil.

Keep the mix on a rolling boil for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until you’ve got a beautiful thick syrup.

It’s important to make a syrup base first because the sugar and spices need to get quite hot, but if you heat them this high once you’ve added the wine, you’ll burn off the alcohol.

When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine. 

Gently heat the wine, and after around 5 minutes, when it’s warm and delicious, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.

photography Bianca Virtue