Spiced Wine

Hot spiced wine warms Christmas guests in Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, and other northern countries. The tradition dates from medieval times, when wine was sold extremely young and needed help from sugar and spices to make it palatable.

1bottle red wine, such as Merlot
1-3tablespoons light brown sugar
2cinnamon sticks (each about 3 in.)
8cloves
8black peppercorns
piece of nutmeg, about the size of a pea
juice of 1 orange
1orange, washed and sliced
1lemon, washed and sliced
cup rum, brandy, or port (optional)

Put the wine, a tablespoon of sugar, the cinnamon sticks, cloves, peppercorns, and piece of nutmeg into a medium saucepan. (To get a chunk of nutmeg, just chop it off a whole nutmeg using a heavy knife.) Add the orange juice and place the pan inside a much larger pan or Dutch oven. Add enough hot water to the large pan so that it comes well up the sides of the smaller pan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring the wine occasionally and tasting to check its sweetness. Add the remaining sugar if you would like a sweeter brew. Do not let the wine simmer, but let it get very hot. Just before serving, add the rum, brandy, or port. Ladle into glasses, making sure you have a spoon in each glass before you pour in the hot wine. Add orange and lemon slices. You can keep remaining wine hot by covering the pan and standing it in the bath of hot water. Serves 4-6. This recipe can be multiplied to make enough for a crowd.