Christmas Market Style Glühwein is a festive staple. With its gentle spice, delicate sweetness and warming nature, a true Christmas Market experience is not without a steaming cup of Glühwein to keep your chilly hands warm.
The recipe used throughout Switzerland/Germany/Austria does vary slightly, with each person having their preferred method, but largely the recipe is simple and doesn’t contain any spirits. Typically, the only alcohol is the wine itself. Also, star anise is rarely in an authentic Glühwein recipe, which I was surprised to learn as there is a star anise pictured in most of the Glühwein recipes I see on Pinterest.
To develop my recipe, I wanted to do as much research as possible about what really goes into Glühwein from some German recipes. This definitely put my German to the test haha! The most common spices used are cinnamon (in stick form), cloves and allspice. Allspice is actually a spice in its own right, not a blend of spices as the name suggests.
Allspice berries are dried berries from a plant that comes from Jamaica, and have a flavour similar to nutmeg and cloves. In German these are called “Nelkenpfeffer”. This recipe uses the actual berries to infuse the Glühwein rather than using the ground version. I also used a lot of similar spices in these Chai Spiced cupcakes, so if you like Glühwein you will definitely like these!
Sugar and water are boiled first with all the spices and the rind of an orange and a lemon before the wine is added and heated through. Your whole house is going to smell like a Christmas Market if you make this! It’s incredible! Best served alongside some Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue ;)
This is the last festive themed recipe this year (sad face), but I’ll be back later this week with a warm, comforting winter dinner idea…
Christmas Market Style Glühwein (Mulled Wine)
Serves 6
Learn how to make a traditional Glühwein from this recipe all the way from Switzerland
Ingredients:
1 Bottle Dry Red Wine (such as Cabernet),
500ml Water,
1 Cinnamon Stick,
6 Whole Cloves,
4 Allspice Berries,
4 Tablespoons Sugar,
Peel of 1 Orange,
Peel of 1 Lemon.
Steps:
1. Add the water, sugar, spices and the peel of the orange and lemon into a large saucepan or casserole dish. Bring to a boil then let simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the rind and spices using a sieve and add the wine. Heat through until the wine is steaming but don’t let it simmer or boil.
3. Either serve immediately or store the cooled Glühwein in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in a saucepan when you want to serve. It will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge in an airtight container.
About Lauren Caris
Lauren is the author and chef of the vegan food blog, Lauren Caris Cooks. She is passionate about showing people just how awesome vegan food can be with simple, delicious recipes and vegan lifestyle tips.
Wow! Thanks for your research! This sounds simple and delicious. Just one question: if I want to serve it with a slice of orange —just like your picture, how do you suggest I should warm the orange?
Hi Natalia! Just pop the orange slices in for a couple of minutes at the end of the simmering, they won’t take long to warm through :)
I love gluhwein! I can’t wait to actually try this recipe on my own!
Me too! Hope you love it! It’s one of my favourite things about the holidays!