Makes about 1 quart of mulling syrup

When most people make hot mulled wine, they just chuck some spices into a pot with wine and cook it.  BLATCH and icky-pooh!  If you cook the wine long enough for the spices to impart any flavor to the wine, the wine will lose a lot of its alcohol and in many cases the flavor of the wine will be ruined.  I think you will find this recipe gives you a much more desirable end result. 

3 or 4 pieces of cinnamon stick

1 whole nutmeg, crushed

1 teaspoon whole allspice – (crushed, not ground)

2 or 3 slices of fresh ginger root

10 to 12 whole cloves

1/2 teaspoons anise seeds

1 orange cut into quarters, including the peel

1 apple cut into quarters

1/2 a small hot dried chili – (I kid you not – yes, half a chili)

3 cups of sugar

6 cups of water

Put all ingredients into a large pot, stir until the sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and continue to simmer for an hour or two, or until the whole house smells wonderful.  Allow to cool.  Strain this syrup and store until needed. 

When  you wish to use, simply add the syrup to inexpensive full bodied Burgundy type red wine to taste and heat.  I like to use about one-third syrup and two-thirds wine.  You may wish to use more or less of the syrup to suit your taste.

If you are making your mulled wine by the individual serving, just mix the wine and mulling syrup and nuke until hot.   If you wish to make a batch, combine the wine and mulling syrup in a non-reactive pot and heat just to the simmering point.  A nice touch is to garnish each serving with a cinnamon stick.