Good evening dear Friends
I hope that you are all well.
All around our streets and shops, Christmas is on his way and my little victorians were busy this afternoon celebrating one of the most ancient Christmas traditions :
The Traditions of Christmas
Mulled wine originated in the 2nd century. It was created by the Romans who would heat wine to defend their bodies against the cold winter. As the Romans conquered much of Europe throughout the next century, their love for mulled wine spread across their empire and the regions they traded with.
As its popularity continued to grow throughout the middle ages, Europeans would mix heated wine with spices because they believed it would promote health and avoid sickness. They would also use herbs and flowers as natural sweeteners to make unpalatable wines taste a lot nicer.
As more alternatives developed over time, recipe books started using the collective name glögg, first mentioned in 1609. The next big adaptation took place in the 1800s when cognacs-glögg started to become popular, too.
The big turning point came in the 1890s, when glögg became associated with Christmas. Every wine merchant across the country had their own unique recipe to share. Over time, these unique bottles (most depicting Santa Claus) were distributed throughout the rest of Europe – uprooting the long forgotten mulled wine in a new festive light.
Over the next several decades, mulled wine had become a global phenomenon, with countries all over the world creating their own unique blends.
The traditional recipe consists in gently heating red wine with citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons or satsumas, cloves, cinnamon sticks, caster sugar and a touch of brandy and let it simmer until it blends into the perfect mulled wine. Cheers
Karim
