Slow cooker mulled wine, or spiced wine, is a traditional holiday alcoholic beverage. Served warm, mulled wine is filled with seasonal spices like cinnamon, star anise, and cloves.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Red wine infused with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and orange. It's sweet, warm, and cozy (perfect for a cold winter day).
Slow cooker size: 2-3 quart
Yield: 36 ounces (about six 6-ounces servings)
Similar to: Crock Pot Mulled Cider (non-alcoholic)
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Wine - Any dry red wine works well for mulled wine. Since we're adding spices, citrus, maple syrup, and other flavors, an inexpensive wine works just fine. I used a bottle of cabernet sauvignon.
- Apple juice - Adds a hint of apple flavor and a bit of sweetness to the mulled wine. Can be substituted with apple cider or orange juice.
- Triple sec - Adds orange flavor. Can be substituted with brandy or even fireball whisky.
- Sweetener - Maple syrup can be substituted with granulated sugar or brown sugar if needed.
- Spices - Cinnamon, star anise, and cloves add a warming, spiced flavor to your mulled wine.
Frequently asked questions
No. We're using the low heat setting for one hour, which is just long enough to warm the mulled wine. Unless you're bringing your mulled wine to a rolling boil on the stovetop for a significant amount of time, the alcohol will not cook out. A study was done by Idaho State University where they concluded that alcohol does not cook off as quickly as we think. Boiling alcohol, uncovered, for 15 minutes straight would still retain 40% of its alcohol content. To cook the alcohol out entirely, it would take about 3 hours. For this recipe, your wine stays covered the entire time and never comes to a boil.
Cooking your mulled wine for too long, or cooking it to a hotter temperature, can bring out a bitter flavor. I don't recommend warming it for longer than one hour on the low setting. After that, turn your slow cooker off or to a 'warm' setting.
One bottle of wine can be substituted with about 25 ounces of grape juice, cranberry juice, or pomegranate juice. Alternatively, try my recipe for mulled apple cider (it's non-alcoholic).
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Mulled Wine
Ingredients
- 750 ml bottle of red wine, like cabernet sauvignon
- 8 ounces apple juice
- 2 ounces triple sec, or brandy
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a 2-3 quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover, set to low, and warm for 1 hour.
- Ladle into mugs and serve warm. Optionally, garnish mugs with orange slices and cinnamon sticks.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- To make on the stove top: Add all ingredients to a medium stock pot and warm over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until warm. Do not bring to a boil, this can add a bitter taste and will begin to cook the alcohol off.
- Leftover mulled wine: Strain the spices and orange slices, then store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Apple juice: Can be substituted with apple cider or orange juice.
- Maple syrup: Can be substituted with granulated sugar, brown sugar, or honey.
We're making this for Thanksgiving, but made a test batch to try it. It's so good! We used brandy but might try triple sec next time. Also used honey and it worked instead of maple syrup. Can't wait for the next batch!
Sounds like it went well, hope you enjoy it for Thanksgiving!