The Christmas Companion
Mulled wine recipe
Skye McAlpine | 13 Nov 2025
Recipe from The Christmas Companion by Skye McAlpine
Mulled wine is ambrosial: you can taste its delectable warmth, so richly spiced, right down into the hollow of your belly with each sip. But the very best thing about mulled wine, I can’t help but feel, is the inimitable scent of Christmas that permeates the house as it bubbles away on the hob. There are few things that taste, feel and smell more deliciously festive.
The quantities below are for a single bottle of red wine, which broadly should make enough for six cups or servings. Of all the drinks in this chapter, however, mulled wine is easiest to make for a crowd. You can prepare it in advance – indeed there is a strong argument to be made that preparing it ahead allows the flavours more time to develop and intensify – then reheat gently as needed. All you need is a large saucepan for the wine to simmer away in.
Ingredients
Serves 6
Hands on time 5 minutes
Hand off time 10 minutes
- 1 bottle of fruity red wine
- 30ml brandy
- 50g caster sugar
- 4 cloves
- 2 long cinnamon sticks
- ¼ teaspoon mixed spice
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
Method
- Pour the wine and brandy into a large saucepan, then add the sugar and spices.
- Use a sharp knife to slice off the peel and pith of the orange and lemon in thick strips and toss into the pan with everything else. (You only need the peel here, so you can use the fruit itself for something else, such as Orange, Carrot and Pistachio Salad.) Otherwise, just halve the fruit and chuck it in.
- Set the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Once the wine begins to bubble, reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes to infuse the flavours. If making this in advance, turn off the heat and cover with a lid; it will be fine like this for up to 24 hours in a cool kitchen.
- Combine the 220ml pomegranate juice, molasses, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the crushed peppercorns and salt flakes in a small bowl and whisk with a fork, then use a pastry brush to brush some of this glaze on the turkey, sprinkling more salt flakes over, to help it crisp in the oven. Now, pour 300–400ml of the stock into the roasting dish.
- Reheat gently over a medium heat. Serve warm and straight from the pan.
