Holiday Mocktails: Non-alcoholic Mulled Wine
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The smell of wine mulling on the stove is the epitome of hygge, and it tastes like coziness in a cup. The catch is if you’re not drinking, how do you make non-alcoholic mulled wine taste as good as the real thing? Here is our proven method for making a mouth-watering non-alcoholic mulled wine you’ll want to make again and again.
Heating non-alcoholic wine ruins it
Since non-alcoholic wine has already been heated at low temperatures to remove the alcohol, any extra cooking time can damage the fragile taste profile of dealcoholized wine. Our special hack includes two extra steps that are worth it to make your non-alcoholic mulled wine retain its flavour.
Steps to making non-alcoholic mulled wine
Infusion: First you’re going to infuse a blend of mulling spices into one bottle of non-alcoholic wine while it’s cool or room temperature
Syrup: You’ll make a spiced mulling syrup to add more flavour and texture
When it’s time to serve, add the syrup to the pre-infused non-alcoholic wine with orange slices and cinnamon sticks and heat very gently over very low heat.
What spices do you need for non-alcoholic mulled wine?
There is no rule when it comes to mulled wine spices. It’s usually a mixture of one or two cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, a few anise stars, some cardamom pods, half a dozen cloves and one or two allspice berries if you have them. If you don’t have some of the above, don’t worry, it will still taste great with whatever you have on hand.
Step 1 - Preparing the Infusion
Ingredients
1 bottle non alcoholic cabernet sauvignon (or similar blend)
3 cinnamon sticks
5 star of anise
6 allspice berries, crushed
1 tsp cloves, crushed
1 tbsp cardamom pods, gently crushed
Preparation
Add all the ingredients above to a decanter/pitcher/jug.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap or another airtight covering and store in a cool, dry place overnight.
Step 2- Preparing a mulling syrup
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
3 star of anise
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5 allspice berries, crushed
1 tsp cloves, crushed
1 tbsp cardamom pods, gently crushed
Preparation
Add everything to a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking gently until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for about 30 minutes. Once cool, strain into a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
Serving Non-alcoholic Mulled Wine
Ingredients:
All of the infused non-alcoholic wine
One fresh bottle of non-alcoholic red wine 1/2 cup mulling syrup (or to taste)
2 droppers non-alcoholic orange bitters (or 5-6 dashes regular Angostura)
3-4 orange slices
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3-4 star anise
Strain out the spices from the infused wine into a dutch oven or saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine and then warm very gently on low heat. Keep warm on a hot plate or in a crock pot to avoid over cooking on the stove. (When I say warm, I mean it shouldn’t steam!!!)
To serve, ladle the mulled wine into mugs and garnish with a cinnamon stick and star anise. You and your guests will enjoy this extra special non-alcoholic mulled wine, that will deliver that holiday feeling without the hangover!
Cheers and let’s make it non alcoholic!
Non-alcoholic mulled wine
Ingredients
- 2 bottle, St. Regis Non Alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 6 star of anise
- 8 allspice berries, crushed
- 2 tsp cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp cardamom pods, gently crushed
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 star of anise
- 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 5 allspice berries, crushed
- 1 tsp cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp cardamom pods, gently crushed
- All of the infused non-alcoholic wine
- ¼ cup mulling syrup (or to taste)
- 5-6 dashes non-alcoholic orange bitters
- 3-4 orange slices
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 3-4 star anise
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a decanter/jug/pitcher and pour in the wine. Cover with plastic wrap or other air-tight cover and store in a cool, dry place overnight.
- Add everything to a saucepan on medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking gently until the sugar dissolves.
- Once simmering, remove from heat, cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
- Strain into a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Add all the infused non-alcoholic wine, 1/4 cup mulling syrup (or to taste), bitters and garnishes to a dutch oven or saucepan and warm very gently on low heat.
- Once warm, serve immediately or keep warm on a hot plate or in a crock pot to avoid over cooking on the stove.
