Christmas time is coming, it's dark in Germany and everything at the Christmas markets has become overly expensive this year.
At the supermarket, I picked up a bottle of mulled wine because I liked to know what ingredients are in it. And I was astonished to find that it simply says wine with spices on the label.
Disclaimer
This is not a sponsored post. I bought the ingredients at Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and Edeka and the brand names are also pure coincidence.
As I really like to know what I consume, I just came up with a mulled wine recipe on my own, so that I can offer a warm alternative alongside my cold 2020 winter aperitif.
To be precise, it's not exactly mulled wine, but more something like a fruit punch with wine. Whatever you want to call it, it's sweet, tasteful and a warming treat on a dark winter evening.
Apple Wine Punch
Ingredients for 2 cups
- 400ml apple juice
- 40g brown rock candy
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 150ml red wine
- 150ml apple cider
Bring apple juice with brown rock candy, star anise and cinnamon stick to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes until sugar is completely dissolved.
Add red wine (I chose a dry Tempranillo) and apple cider of your choice, heat, stir and pour into cups. Cheers!
Non-Alcoholic Rosehip Punch
Ingredients for 2 cups
- 400ml fruit juice
- 40g brown rock candy
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 cup of rosehip tea
Select a sour fruit juice with flavor variety. I went with a mixed raspberry passion fruit apple juice. This contains over 40% apple juice anyway, but has a few more fruit notes in it. There are many different types of these mixed juices in the supermarket. Alternatively you could pick a currant or sour cherry juice.
Bring the juice with rock candy, star anise and cinnamon stick to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved.
At the same time, boil a cup of rosehip tea with 2 tea bags for stronger flavor and pour it into the pot. Stir once and pour into cups. Cheers!
It's the cinnamon stick, star anise and the brown rock candy that make these drinks so delicious.
You can download both recipes as a PDF here to print them out, if you like.