The Georgian Secret to the Best Mulled Wine

The Georgian Secret to the Best Mulled Wine

The clocks have switched to mulled wine time! Early dusk on festively lit streets, a chill in the air, a scarf around your neck… everything is calling for a mug of warm, spiced wine.

Guess what — we at Georgian Wine UK have a secret recipe with a special ingredient that will take your mulled wine to the next level!

Meet Georgia’s most beloved semi-sweet red: Kindzmarauli. It comes from the Kindzmarauli PDO, at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus near the town of Kvareli in Kakheti. Made from perfectly ripe Saperavi grapes harvested in late September to early October, the fermentation is stopped by cooling, leaving a touch of natural sweetness in the wine.

Kindzmarauli is cherished for its balance of sweetness and acidity, its dark cherry and blackberry notes, smooth texture, and friendly price. When used for mulled wine, it hardly needs any added sugar — its natural sweetness does the work. As dark winter evenings creep in, its ripe black fruit flavours, gentle warmth, and subtle spice will wrap around you like a soft blanket.

Here is our magical recipe of the best mulled wine:

- 1 bottle of Kindzmarauli (we recommend Dugladze, Tbilvino or Marani)
- 1 orange
- 1 green apple
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 1-2 anise stars
- 1-2 tsp cloves and nutmeg
+ some honey, if you have an extremely sweet tooth

How to make it:

Warm up the wine. Don’t boil it - boiling drives away alcohol and fresh fruit aromas, leaving only sweetness and spice. Instead, you warm it gently, just enough for the flavours to blend and the scent to fill the kitchen.

Add slices of orange and apple. Maybe squeeze that orange a bit! Then, add spices.

Give it all some time to extract the flavours.

Enjoy! And don't forget to share the secret of Kindzmarauli with your friends.