We take a bottle of wine, cinnamon, star-anise, cloves and a little bit of lemon rind, heat this ingredients and we get the German national Christmas drink – “Glühwein”. Especially at the Christmas Markets this mixture is very popular due to its warming effect. So it comes as no surprise that the Germans drink round about 40 million litre of Glühwine during the advent season.
Roots of the tradition
But where does this tradition of cooking wine comes from? Already the ancient romans brewed warm wine and mixed it with other ingredients. They called it “Conditum Paradoxum“ and used wine, honey and a number of spices for the preparation. But also in the Middle Ages it was a tradition to drink hot wine. The first “Glühwein” as we know it today was invented in 1956, when Rudolf Kunzmann in Augsburg (Germany) mixed wine with sugar and spices and sold it as “Glühwein”. However it was forbidden to add sugar to wine, so the market office of Augsburg imposed a fine on Mr. Kunzmann because he disregarded the wine law. When the wine law has been changed, “Glühwein” was legalised whereby we can enjoy the fizzy drink during the Christmas time.
Classical Glühwein – recipe
If you want brew your own Glühwein, you are just a few steps away from the delicious taste experience!
What you need:
1 litre red wine
1 untreated lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
3 tablespoon sugar
Some cardamom
Preparation:
Pour the red wine into a pot, cut the lemon into slices and put it into the pot together with the sugar, the cinnamon sticks and the cloves. Heat it until it nearly boils. Then let it settle at least one hour.
Finally you can refine the Glühwein with caradmom, the bigger spices as cinnamon sticks or cloves can be removed from the pot. To prevent that the Glühwein loses its temperature, you can use preheated glasses. If you prefer a little more sweetness, you can add honey or sugar to the Glühwein – quite to your liking.
Caution!
The Glühwein musn’t be boiled – just heated! Otherwise the included alcohol evaporates and the spices change their taste.
Have fun trying out the recipe and have a great Christmas Time!
2 Kommentare
It sounds very nice. I think with the christmas markets and what you call "Glühwein" you really getting this christmas spirit. It´s a pity that we don´t have that in croatia. But I will try this "Glühwein" recipe for next Christmas! Thank you guys!
AntwortenLöschenWe're pleased that you like our article. Enjoy drinking Glühwein! :)
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