German mulled wine, known as Glühwein, is the perfect hot drink to celebrate the holiday season. I grew up in Germany and will share an authentic German recipe with you!
This classic alcoholic beverage is made with red wine and is slightly sweet, a little tart, and quite fragrant with just the right amount of spices like cinnamon and cloves.
It’s a staple Christmas market drink in Germany. Over the last few years, mulled white wine has also become quite popular.
For me, German Christmas markets and Glühwein go hand in hand. Together, Eric and I have been lucky enough to visit Christmas markets in numerous German cities like Cologne, Aachen, Berlin, and Nuremberg.
That said, mulled wine can also be found outside of Germany – we’ve had it in Prague and Edinburgh, too.
These days (back in North America), we’ve gotten into making it ourselves for family and friends and it’s always a hit.
Ingredients
- Red wine – Use a semi-dry or dry red wine with decent quality, but it doesn’t have to be anything high-end.
- Cinnamon sticks – Three cinnamon sticks to give the mulled wine its classic flavor.
- Oranges – Use organic oranges because the orange slices will simmer in the pot. Alternatively, peel the orange first.
- Cloves – Whole cloves to give the mulled wine its classic taste.
- Sugar – You can add more or less sugar to suit your personal preference.
- Rum (optional) – Often an optional addition at Christmas markets.
- Cardamom (optional) – To add more flavor; don’t add too much since it can be quite fragrant and make sure the pods are still closed.
- Star anise (optional) – Can be tough to find but a great addition if you have it.
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Recipe Tips
- You can easily double or triple the recipe.
- Choose a medium-quality dry (or semi-dry if you prefer) red wine. Avoid very cheap, low-quality wines because the flavor will come through, but you don’t need anything high-end either.
- Feel free to use the spices that you have, but we definitely recommend using oranges, cinnamon sticks, and cloves at least.
- Try to use spices that are relatively fresh. Spices that have been sitting in the cupboard for years won’t be as fragrant anymore.
- If you want to up the booze content, you can add extra alcohol like rum or brandy.
- It’s important that the wine doesn’t come to a boil. This would evaporate some of the alcohol and change the strength/flavor of the drink.
- Heat the mulled wine for about 30 minutes for a milder taste, or up to one hour for a stronger, more flavorful taste.
- You can make the mulled wine in the slow cooker (heat on low for about 1 hour, then switch to keep warm), which is great when hosting.
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How to Make Glühwein – Step-by-Step Instructions
Start by washing the oranges. Then cut them into slices. You can save a few slices for garnish.
Next, add the wine, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, cloves, sugar, rum (optional), star anise (optional), and cardamom (optional) to a pot.
Put on the lid and heat the mixture over low heat for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. It’s important that the wine doesn’t come to a boil. Check on the wine occasionally and give it a stir.
Try the mulled wine and add more sugar to taste. Then pour the wine through a strainer to capture the spices and orange slices.
Alternatively, just be careful when ladling the mulled wine out of the pot.
You can serve the mulled wine hot with orange slices (fresh slices or the slices from the pot) and a cinnamon stick in each mug for decoration. But this is definitely optional.
Enjoy!
Storage Tips
If you have any leftover Glühwein, allow it to cool and then store it in a glass jar or pot with a lid in the fridge.
You can easily reheat the mulled wine in a small pot on the stove. Just keep an eye on it since it shouldn’t come to a boil.
FAQ
Glühwein is the German term for mulled wine. Mulled wine is a sweet alcoholic holiday beverage that is traditionally made by heating red wine with different spices and citrus fruit like oranges. It is served hot and enjoyed at Christmas markets in Germany and abroad.
“Glühwein” is hard to say as an English speaker because the “ü” is a sound not readily heard or pronounced. To get somewhat close, you could say “Glue” (like what you use on paper) and vine (like a vine of grapes). So, literally it’s Glue-vine… but the ü is much more drawn out.
Related Recipes
If you liked this Glühwein recipe, you can check out these other popular German holiday drinks:
- Mulled White Wine
- Kinderpunsch (Non-Alcoholic German Punch)
- Eierlikör (German Egg Liqueur)
- Eierpunsch (made with German Eierlikör)
German Mulled Wine (Glühwein)
Ingredients
- 2 organic oranges
- 1 bottle dry red wine, 750 ml / 25.4 fl oz
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 5 cloves
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, more to taste
- 2 tablespoons rum, optional
- 3 cardamom pods, optional
- 2 whole star anise, optional
Instructions
- Wash 2 organic oranges and cut them into slices. You can save a few slices for decoration.
- Add 1 bottle dry red wine, 3 cinnamon sticks, orange slices, 5 cloves, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons rum (optional), 3 cardamom pods (optional), and 2 whole star anise (optional) to a pot. Put on the lid and heat the mixture on low heat for about 30 minutes (for a milder taste) to 1 hour (for a stronger taste). It's important that the wine doesn't come to a boil, as this would evaporate some of the alcohol and affect the flavor. Stir occasionally.
- Taste the mulled wine and add more sugar if needed.
- Pour the wine through a strainer to capture the spices and orange slices.
- Optionally serve with orange slices (fresh slices or the slices from inside the brewing pot) and enjoy!
Notes
- You can easily double or triple the recipe.
- You can use different wines to make mulled wine. We recommend a medium-quality dry red wine. Don’t opt for a very cheap, low-quality wine, because you will taste it. At the same time, there is no need for a high-end bottle.
- We recommend using organic oranges and washing them really well since their peels will be used in the drink.
- You can add different spices to mulled wine depending on your taste. The ones we mentioned are just the most traditional ones.
- It’s important that the wine doesn’t come to a boil.
- For a stronger kick, you can add a splash of rum or brandy. This is something you often see at Christmas Markets as an add-on to the “regular” mulled wine.
- Slow cooker option: Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker, cover, and heat on low for 1 hour, then switch to keep warm.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!This recipe was first published in October 2020 and last updated in September 2026.
Last year we went to Germany and Prague for Christmas and it was so special. We wanted to recreate that feeling of walking around the Christmas markets with a mug of Gluhwein like we remember so we decided to make this! I made this today along with some lebkuchen I made from scratch. It was a delicious recipe that made me feel like we were back in Germany. Thank you!