# Who drinks hot or warm wine? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105 "2003-01-17T00:14:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/1 "2003-01-17T00:14:28Z")
So I was in Manchester, England last month, and there was a small stand in the city center area that sold mugs of hot wine. There was a deposit on the mug or you could buy it. The business seemed to be generating a lot of income. I never heard of hot wine before and did not feel like trying it. How common is this? Anyone like hot wine? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/2 "2003-01-17T00:24:23Z")
Mulled wine (spiced) is served warm and properly made, it’s fantastic on a cold winter’s eve. ---
**Author:** ![ffabris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a87d85/32.png) [@ffabris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ffabris)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/3 "2003-01-17T00:35:35Z")
It’s quite common in Italy (or parts of Italy anyway) during winter, where it is often served during town festivals or during the Christmas holidays. It is usually served very hot. It usuall contains small pieces of cinnamon, among other things. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/4 "2003-01-17T00:59:13Z")
We’ve made it at our parties. Typically we either use mead or a nice sweet red wine like raspberry or blackberry. Mmm Mmm Good. It can really take care of you on a chilly day. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/5 "2003-01-17T01:30:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ffabris \* > \*\*It usuall contains small pieces of cinnamon, among other things. \*\* Cloves are common too. Mulled wine is a favourite of my SCA crowd – particularly at the _Bloth_ (our mid-winter feast). A quick Google on (+recipe +“mulled wine”) turns up any number of likely looking variants. Mmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/6 "2003-01-17T01:52:25Z")
Hot mulled wine is SUPER. Hot mulled mead also super. Love both… ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/7 "2003-01-17T02:39:53Z")
In Germany, it’s called _Gluehwein_. It’s quite popular in winter at the festivals (like **ffabris** mentioned in Italy). I was at the Kristkindlmarkt in Nuernberg (Nuremberg) with my parents when I was six years old. I remember being colder than I’d ever been in my life. The weather was in the single digits, and we’d just moved from Texas. My mom decided it was a good idea to warm me up with a slug of gluehwein. :rolleyes: Anyway, it’s kind of an acquired taste. You need to add sugar, or the wine ends up being quite bitter after heating/mulling. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/8 "2003-01-17T02:44:05Z")
We always have warm spiced wine at Xmas - it’s really good. I’ve never had it any other time, though. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/9 "2003-01-17T05:29:45Z")
I’ll make it in the winter when I buy wine that is too bad to drink on it’s own. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/10 "2003-01-17T06:21:38Z")
Looks like I missed out on something quite good. Will have to try some. ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/11 "2003-01-17T09:06:44Z")
Not all hot wine is mulled or spiced. Yates’s Wine Lodge in Blackpool do a thing called “Blob” This is fortified Australian white wine, in a half pint glass, filled up with boiling water. I quite like it and it is great after a long walk on a cold beach in the winter ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/12 "2003-01-17T11:01:37Z")
It’s called _svarak_ in Czech. I love it on cold winter days. Simple recipe: half bottle of red table wine in a pot, throw in a cinnamon stick and a few cloves. Heat on medium until there is a thin layer of tiny white bubbles/foam floating on top (covering 1/8 to 1/4 of the surface). Pour into 2 Irish coffee mugs (or whatever) and sweeten to taste with sugar. Some people like it with a few sticks of cinnamon so you can put one into each mug. If you fully boil the wine, you will boil off most of the alcohol and give it a sharper taste. Na zdravi! -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/13 "2003-01-17T11:26:18Z")
Very much a Christmas drink in the UK - by December 26th you can be mightily sick of both mulled wine and mince pies. Hot cross buns on the other hand, never go our of fashion (with me at any rate ;)) Grim ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/14 "2003-01-17T11:51:36Z")
_Sake_ is often drunk warm during the winter in Japan, and chilled during the summer. Mulled wine is lovely. In Sweden they have an even nicer version called _glögg_, which is very sweet and also contains vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Mith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mith)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/15 "2003-01-17T11:54:05Z")
cyder? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/16 "2003-01-17T13:50:47Z")
I remember a recipe from a Peg Bracken cookbook. It called for beaten eggs, some spices and about 5 varieties of heated booze, including wine. As she put it "This will grow hair on sidewalks. ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/17 "2003-01-17T13:53:49Z")
[drool] Mmmm…mulled wine… [/drool] ---
**Author:** ![Biba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Biba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biba)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/18 "2003-01-17T14:12:24Z")
We only ever drink it in the winter months, and usually mix a bottle of red wine with orange juice, and add cinnamon sticks, slices of oranges, lemons and apples, then heat gently, but don’t boil. Wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/19 "2003-01-17T14:20:42Z")
I’ve never put vodka into my gloog! Just cloves, cinnamon, sugar, and other secret spices 😉 Oh, and it’s not something I’ve ever done with a good bottle of red wine. Usually I do it with some plonk that people have left after a party. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105/20 "2003-01-17T16:36:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > In Sweden they have an even nicer version called glögg, which is very sweet and also **contains vodka**. Not necessarily. However, I heard a program on the radio just the other week about glögg and apparently the tradition of heating and spicing wine goes back very long all over Europe and it’s growing. In Sweden, say 10-15 years ago, you could find just one brand and now there are nine. Unfortunately a friend of mine, who had promised me a bottle of his homemade, didn’t deliver. I tried last year’s batch and it was marvellous. Among other things he had used chili in the spicing, and I must say it tasted better than any factory made glögg I’ve had. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-drinks-hot-or-warm-wine/149105.md?page=2)