March De Nol Vin Chaud French Spiced Mulled Wine
Whether you have just come of the ski slopes or you are wandering around a french marché de noël, a christmas market, this is just the beverage to warm the cockles of your heart, as well as your frozen fingers and toes! Vin chaud is hot-spiced wine served the french way, with a slug of cognac of course! it's a traditional welcome drink and is very popular where i live in the south west of france; especially at christmas and new year – and you’ll find it in all of the christmas markets at this time of year. Ladle this mulled wine into some heavy cut-glass punch cups; or for a real french feel, use an assortment of old wine glasses and to avoid them cracking, place a teaspoon in to the glasses beforehand - this takes the heat away from the glass. One word about the wine, please do use a good wine, and not what is known as a cooking wine" - i find that beaujolais works well or a fruity chinon."
Steps
Wrap the cardamom pods and cloves in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin.
Mix the rest of the ingredients , apart from the cognac , together in a large saucepan.
Add the bag of spices.
Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over a low heat.
Do not allow the wine to boil.
The mulled wine is hot enough when the sugar has dissolved.
Add the cognac to the saucepan when the sugar has dissolved and ladle the mulled wine through a tea strainer into punch cups , mugs or glasses.
Ingredients
red wine, cinnamon sticks, orange, zest of, lemon, zest of, granulated sugar, cardamom pods, whole cloves, cognac