Dr M offers a botanical extravaganza with mulled wine, a drink supposedly invented by Hippocrates and for which there are recipes in English from as early as the 16th century.
Vines in southern France
Grapes form the basis of wine and differing sources offer wildly different estimates of the number of grape cultivars cultivated to make wine. For instance Berry Bros. & Rudd in London offer a list of 143 varieties of grape from which they stock wine, while Wikipedia list 335 Red grape varieties and 418 White grape varieties used for wine making and Wine Tutor claims over 5000 varieties (but does not attempt to list them).
The spice content of mulled wine varies over time but cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, Piper longum, Star Anise, Cardamom and cloves are each listed in at least some recipes.
The wine is brought together with the spices, citrus (usually oranges) and sugar to make the final product, mulled wine – enjoy!
Mulled wine with orange, cinnamon bark, star anise, peppercorns, and cardamom.
For more views on mulled wine, ingredients and recipes see DrM enjoys a tipple.
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[…] For a very spicy take on mulled wine check Dr M’s colleague at Culham Research Group here. […]
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