mulling
mulled wine
red wine, a bottle or two
balsamic vinegar, something between a dash and a glug
lemon, juice out of a bottle, or a few sliced circles of fresh
spices and herbs. all, or any mixture of the below. no ground spices.
whole peppercorns, black or some pink or a mixture
cardamom pods
cloves
a cinnamon stick
a single star of star anise
a whole thin red chilli, if there is one to hand
fresh ginger, thinly sliced, as much as you like.
bay leaves, fresh, stolen, squashed
sage, fresh or dry
rosemary, fresh
(the above herbs, best if whole so they can be sieved out/avoided when sipping)
brown sugar, to taste
method
mull a cup of the red wine with the other liquids for a minute over a high flame, in a high sided pot big enough to accommodate all the wine. Let it bubble away.
Add the spices and herbs and the rest of the wine. Lower the heat and allow to lightly simmer for a quarter of an hour. Taste for alcohol, it should be cooking off a little. Add some sugar, maybe a few big open pinches of it, give it a minute and taste again. Keep on the heat until it tastes to your liking. Worth allowing a spoonful to first cool some so you can get a proper gauge of the taste.
When ready, turn off the heat and allow to cool a little before dunking a small jug in and pouring into heatproof glasses or cups. I prefer to not sieve, but do that if it appeals.
The chilli and ginger come through much more if the mixture if left a day to further combine, so allow this if you are looking for more kick.
N.B.
This is the framework. Sometimes more singular flavours give more pleasure. We drank a thermos of the stuff, spiced with just home-dried sage and some dabs of bottled lemon juice, and it was a thing to savour.