Jodie and I started a “Christmas wine” last night, which we hope will be aged nicely by the time December rolls around. The idea was to mix up the components of mulled wine, and see if it made something delicious.

Here is the recipe we settled on:

  • Organic red grape conc. (5x 355ml cans, reconstituted to 7.1L)
  • Valencia oranges (10x about 1.2L juice)
  • 2kg brown sugar
  • 2L water
  • 2 Campden tablets
  • 1tsp yeast nutrient
  • Sachet of Burgundy wine yeast

The must was rested overnight before adding the nutrient and yeast, and we had some light activity by the following evening. We’re about to add a sachet of spices, which will include cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. We’ll run the must in an open air primary for a week or so, and taste it periodically to see when it’s time to remove the spice bag.

Cheers!