Don’t Mull Over This Season’s Special Wine

The weather turns and, before long, well, at least in the colder cities, we begin to find ways to warm ourselves up. In Ancient Rome, around the 2nd century AD, a drink calledConditum Paradoxum was created: a spiced, sweetened wine made with flagons of dry reds, honey, saffron, black pepper, and the occasional herbs. Italy wasn’t exactly freezing, but it also had little patience for bad wine. These ingredients were added to mask flaws, but instead birthed a delicious warm beverage to sip on.

As Roman influence swept across Europe, so did this practice of warming wine. The colder the climate, the more essential it became. Today, the many reinterpretations of mulled wine still pay homage to that ancient spark, simmered, spiced, and steadfast through centuries.  

Mulling Over The Past

Last year, on wintery evenings in Portugal, and the year before on the chic cobbled paths of Milan, I found myself gravitating towards street-side kiosks doling out warm spiced wine in paper cups. Lisbon had Vinho Quente – quite a bold, cinnamon-heavy version with a hint of port. In Italy, Vin Brulè is a subtler, orange-forward one using cloves and cinnamon. The heat warms your palms as you stroll through Christmas markets, weaving between sweet treats, cheeses, and pretty much brings the cheer associated with the season.

Come December, my own little pot and recipe would inevitably bubble up, much asked for, no matter which part of the world I was in. In Los Angeles, it became a staple simmering away on the stovetop. I leaned into sweet spices and honeyed notes that filled the home with a natural perfume – who needs aromatic candles? But that certainly didn’t stop me from refining my own version once I was back in humid Mumbai.

The first time I made mulled wine at home, I was obsessed with sweet port wines and hunting for something reminiscent of them, without the cloying sweetness most commercial versions tend to suffer from. The key, I learned, is to use a good dry red and build the complexities around it.

I drew from the foundations of classic cocktails: sweet, sour, dry, aromatic, and spiced. The ideal combination of flavours to make this not just a warm drink, but a genuinely well-balanced cocktail.

While citrus is inevitable, it must be citrus with less acidity. Oranges, tangerines, even blood oranges or our local sweet limes (mosambi), work beautifully. But the real magic came from the cranberry upgrade, now easily available in juice packs. It brings just enough brightness to flirt with the warmth of wine.

Unlike the Roman original, given that we now use good wine (always use good wine; never spoilt or oxidised), I simmer the spices with the juices, fresh and canned, along with raw sugar, and keep this blend ready. Right before serving, it’s reheated, and the wine is gently warmed through (make sure you never boil it), just until it begins to steam.

Ladle it over heatproof glasses filled with Valencia orange slices, juicy apples, and a cinnamon stick. Let guests serve themselves by transferring the blend into a thermos to keep it warm and inviting throughout the night. 

The Quintessential Nonchalant Mulled Wine

(Serves 8)

1 bottle good dry red wine (Shiraz or Pinot Noir works well)

100 ml Triple Sec or Cointreau 

400 ml fresh orange juice
400 ml cranberry juice
¾ cup demerara or raw sugar (jaggery works too)
3-4 black cardamom + green cardamom (lightly cracked)
3-4 star anise
3-4 cinnamon sticks
6-8 black peppercorns
2-3 cloves
A pinch of pink salt (for balance)
¼ cup water
Oranges, apples, and cinnamon sticks for garnish

Method: Pour all the ingredients except the wine into a large pot. Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes or until fragrant.

Do not strain. When ready to serve, reheat on medium, add the wine, and gently warm; do not boil. Ladle into individual cups or heat-proof glasses, topping with the fruits and spices.

These Spots Across the Country Are Perfect for Your Mulled Wine Cravings

1. Gladia Brewery & Kitchen

A festive, warm red wine infused with winter spices, orange peel, and honey, enriched with raisins and finished with a subtle herbaceous lift. One of the closest interpretations to the Roman style, nodding to rosemary and ancient aromatics.

Where: Gladia Brewery & Kitchen, Mahadevapura, Bengaluru

2. Dublin – The Irish Bar, ITC Grand Central

A classic seasonal staple, robust red wine gently mulled with warm holiday spices, delivering familiar comfort and rich, rounded flavours.

Where: Dublin, ITC Grand Central, Dr RK Shirodkar Marg, Parel, Mumbai

3. Latango

Red wine slowly warmed with aromatic winter spices and a restrained touch of honey, keeping the profile elegant and unfussy.

Where: Latango, Unit No. S, Nehru Place, New Delhi, Delhi

4. Olive Beach

Rich red wine slow-infused with cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Silky, spiced, and deeply comforting, just the way a winter pour should be.

Where: Olive Beach, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru

5. Atelier V

House mulled wine is prepared by macerating red wine overnight with whole spices and orange, then gently warmed before service for layered depth and softness.

Where: Atelier V, Scheme No. 54, Indore

6. Parlour, Grand Hyatt Gurgaon

Carefully slow-simmered with fragrant spices, citrus notes, and subtle sweetness, balanced and quietly indulgent.

Where: Parlour, Grand Hyatt Gurgaon, Sector 58, Gurugram

7. PCO

At PCO, mulled wine isn’t a winter novelty; it’s a ritual. Slow-simmered with whole spices, citrus peels, and aromatics, built for depth rather than sweetness, and refined over many winters behind closed doors.

Where: PCO, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, Delhi 

8. SIXTEEN33

Red wine meets citrus, aromatic spices, cacao nibs, and a touch of whiskey, creating a cosy, fragrant sip designed for chilly Bandra evenings.

Where: SIXTEEN33, Pali Hill, Mumbai

9. Woodside Inn

A generous blend of Cabernet Shiraz mulled with apricot, cranberry juice, mandarin orange, and aromatic whole spices, bold, fruity, and crowd-pleasing.

Where: Woodside Inn, Bandra, Andheri & Colaba, Mumbai

10. La Loca Maria

A warming blend of Tempranillo and cream sherry, gently mulled with orange, citrus peels, Earl Grey, honey, and winter spices, finished with subtle herbs for a deeply aromatic, festive pour.

Where: La Loca Maria, Fatima villa, 29th Rd, Bandra West, Mumbai

11. Le Cafe, Jewel of Chembur

Red wine macerated overnight with warming spices to allow flavours to deepen and mellow, then served warm with citrus fruits.

Where: Le Cafe, Jewel of Chembur, Chembur Gaothan, Chembur, Mumbai

12. Burash

Built on a base of red wine and brandy, Burash’s mulled wine is infused with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, malt, and fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary for a distinctly wintery profile.

Where: Burash, Sector 132, Noida

13. Chianti Ristorante & Wine Bar

A handcrafted blend of red wine infused with cinnamon, star anise, and cloves, finished with honey and sliced oranges for gentle sweetness and citrus lift.

Where: Chianti Ristorante & Wine Bar, Doopanahalli, Indiranagar, Bengaluru

14. The Grammar Room

Robust red wine gently mulled with orange peel and winter spices, finished with a subtle dash of brandy to deliver refined warmth through the season.

Where: The Grammar Room, Mehrauli, New Delhi, Delhi 

15. Someplace Else – The Restro-Bar

A classic Christmas-style mulled red wine, served warm and infused with aromatic herbs, is nostalgic and unfailingly festive.

Where: Someplace Else, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai

16. Veronica's

A fleeting Very Vero Christmas menu features their signature blend for Mulled Wine.

Where: Veronica's, Ranwar, Bandra West, Mumbai