Tara’s Glühwein Dupe: Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt Style

Alrighty, folks! Tis the season for hot beverages!



I really hate to be a nag, but man, oh man I’ve tried some not-so-authentic tasting Glühwein recipes that I have found online throughout the years.
Yikes.
To be fair, some recipes were pretty darn good, but not exactly what I was looking for.
When in doubt, make your own concoction!
For the past couple of months, I have been perfecting my own recipe with trials and tribulations, and lots of wasted wine. Yes, that is a depressing part of testing a wine recipe…
For those who don’t know, Glühwein is a German/Austrian version of mulled wine. The name literally translates as “Glow wine”. Pronounced: ‘Glue-vine’.
Sadly, my time living in Germany will be coming to an end in late 2017, so I absolutely needed to figure out a dupe for the real deal to keep in my pocket, and take back to the States with me. I know it is possible to find Glühwein in the United States around Christmas at some beverage retailers, but I’m guessing the odds of finding my specific Nürnberger Glühwein are slim. 
UPDATE: Some Shopettes on military installations sell my coveted Gluhwein around Christmas, but it's almost $10 a bottle compared to the 1.50 euro it costs in Germany.

I *think* I have finally mastered what myself, and my taste testers believe is the next best thing to authentic Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt Glühwein! We even conducted a blind test with the real stuff (photo to the left), and although there is a ever-so-slight hint of a difference, in my personal opinion, 7/9 taste testers in the group couldn’t guess which was which. Not bad odds!
Now, there are many many types of German Glühwein, and they are not all the same. Like at all.
Some are more on the fruity punch side, others are like pure gasoline with a hint of fruit. Some are syrupy sweet, others are extremely spicy. Some are more like ciders, and others are made with white wine. You can even find specific flavors of the stuff. Ie; Pear, apple, raspberry, cherry, etc,. There are numerous variations!
But there is only one Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt Glühwein, and it happens to be my favorite of the lot.
The Nürnberger version has a little bit of all of the above, but it does fall into the spicier category of the glühweins out there. There is a really strong presence of cloves in the Nürnberger, and I LOVE it. If heavy cloves/spices aren’t your thing, Nürnberger Glühwein isn’t for you. I’ll put it this way, when we buy Nürnberger Glühwein at the store (in a bottle) or while attending the Christkindlemarkt in Nürnberg, the first sip always hits hard, forcing me to clear my throat. The rest goes down easy, and super fast!


 I have lived in Germany for a few years, and have visited loads of Christmas Markets around the country. Needless to say, I have consumed some glühwein in my time here. I love it so. There isn’t a glühwein or mulled wine I won’t try!   
I am happy to have created my own version of my favorite German hot beverage, and I cannot keep it a secret…
If you are a fan of Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt Glühwein, this is for you!
If you have never had it before, now you can :-)
It’s a stupid simple recipe and easy to follow. You can buy spices in bulk to cut down on each serving cost, which I can’t exactly do here in Germany. No Costco ‘round here.
Boo. Hiss.
I will say that the ONLY thing that busts my knuckles about this recipe is that an actual bottle of the real Nürnberger stuff in my local German market is less than $2 USD. To make this specific recipe, I spent a total of $13 USD (with German market ingredients). Le sigh. But it was worth it, and will remain worth it for years to come!
Tara’s Glühwein Dupe: Nürnberg Christkindlesmarkt Style
What You’ll Need:
2 Star Anaise-whole
20 cloves-whole
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 TBS dried orange peels (to make your own, see below)
4 large orange slices from fresh orange
1 750mL Bottle of fruity, red wine. Not too sweet, not dry. I used Barefoot Sweet Red Blend because it works perfectly for my dupe, and it is also widely available. If not Barefoot, a demi-sec Sangria works.
Cheesecloth/muslin bag (size of the palm of your hand)

Optional:
Maraschino cherries (and reserved cherry juices/syrup)
If you want to kick it up a notch, it is common in Germany, while at a Christmasmarkt, to request a shot of rum or amaretto in your glühwein. So you could include it if you want an extra buzz. As for rum, I prefer Sailor Jerry, but any spiced rum will do.


Let’s Get Started!

• Except for the wine, cinnamon sticks and orange slices, put all ingredients into your cheesecloth/muslin baggie. Tightly secure it.

• Pour wine into a saucepan/pot. Avoid using an aluminum pot. Throw in your orange slices, cinnamon sticks, so they are freely floating about in the wine. Now toss in your baggie of spices. Heat on lower heat (on my electric cooktop, I set the heat to 4).

• Stir frequently (every few minutes or so), dousing and dunking the baggie of spices every time you stir. I like to hold it under my ladle and drown it from time to time, just to ensure that the spices are infusing the wine.

• Keep at a lower heat for 20-25 minutes, and reduce to the bare minimum, lowest setting on your stove to keep warm.

• Do NOT let the wine boil. You will kill the alcohol content. Or you can kill it, if you are a bummer of a person.

• Remove and throw away orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and baggie of spices. You might see little bits of orange pulp floating around. That’s a-okay.

Ladle your Glühwein goodness into a mug and enjoy!
*Note: Room temperature or warmed mugs are best. If the mug is too cold, it can crack with the shock of the heat.
BONUS:
If the glühwein is too dry for your taste (which I do prefer regular wine on the sweeter side, but love my Glühwein with a dryness of sorts like they serve in Nürnberg, Germany at the actual Christkindlesmarkt) add 8-10 maraschino cherries. If that still doesn’t cure it, you can add some of the cherry juices from the jar to taste.
If you are looking for more frills and fun, add an additional shot or two (or three) of a rum/whiskey of your liking. I prefer two shots per batch of spiced rum ~Sailor Jerry~ in mine if I’m feeling extra froggy, which isn’t very often. Some people prefer Amaretto. BUT I do suggest testing the potency of your Glühwein before adding each additional shot. Too much will turn it into a completely different drink.
The Glühwein should keep in an airtight bottle for about a week or so.
**If you cannot find freshly dried orange peels, it’s a simple fix! Buy a few oranges, and use a vegetable peeler to skin the heck out of a good three-four oranges. In a preheated oven set to 200 degrees, bake your peels on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper for 40 minutes. They should look curled and feel crispy-ish. Let cool for 40 minutes. Viola! These can be stored in an airtight container for a bit of time, or until you need to make a new batch of Glühwein!