For all of you last minute Christmas elves, this simple-but-sweet tutorial on How-to Make a Mulled Wine Kit is great for the wine lover on your list and it also makes a wonderful, thoughtful gift for any hostesses/hosts of holiday parties and other celebrations this season.

You can easily grab what you need from your pantry and the local grocer and pull this together in minutes. You can even skip the wine and the alcohol all together and send this along with a quart of local apple cider for a mulled cider option.

Mulled wine is such a comforting and festive drink this time of year or really anytime from the fall through the winter. It’s easy to make and this kit makes it even easier. Besides the simple recipe for the mulling spices and the instructions on the different ways you can package your gift, I even created printable tags and instructions for the gift recipient, for you to include in your kit. So, literally all you have to do is pull your ingredients together, hit “print”, fill your name in and your gift is done! Simple as that. Grab a cute box or wooden crate, or a beautiful gift bag, some cute ribbon or twine and voila, a thoughtful, handmade edible gift!

Gift Options:

Here’s what’s so great about this tutorial, you can put together this Homemade Mulled Wine Kit any way you’d like. It can be as simple and inexpensive as you’d like or you can go all out and create a whole elaborate kit, with absolutely everything they might need! You could simply add the spices to a small cheesecloth pouch or muslin sachet and attach it to the neck of a bottle of wine, with a cute tag and some twine or ribbon and you’ve got a simple but thoughtful handmade gift. Include an orange or a few mugs, or not – whatever you’d like. This simple and affordable option is so great for small gift giving exchanges or a party hostess. The other option is to create a full-on gift box with everything your recipient would need, the honey (or other sweetener), the liquor (which isn’t at all a necessity to mulled wine, but I really find it take it to another level), an orange, all the way down to some glass mugs, for serving, if you so choose. Anyway you package it, this makes a wonderful gift for the wine lover in your life!

How-to Make a Mulled Wine Kit :

Mulling Spice Mix:

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole star anise
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon green cardamom pods
• 2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon allspice berries
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 1 fresh nutmeg pod

To Include in the Kit:

• Mulling spices (see above)
• 1 (750 ml) bottle of full-fruited red wine, I recommend cabernet sauvignon, shiraz or merlot would also work.
• 1 small jar of honey or raw sugar
• 1 small bottle of brandy or cognac, optional
• 1 large orange or some dried orange slices
• a jar or container for the mulling spices (optional, you can also package in the sachet or pouch)
• a spice sachet or pouch or a piece of cheese cloth cut into 6-inch square with a piece of twine
• instructions on how-to make the mulled wine

Optional: a couple of cute glass mugs, additional cinnamon sticks for serving

 

Printable Gift Tags:

Using this PDF file, you can print your own 2-inch square gift tags (as seen in the photos) on any standard printer on 8.5″ x 11″ paper, customize it with your name and attach it with some ribbon or twine.

Instructions For Your Recipient:

Print them out here or hand write your own…

Below are the instructions to include for the recipient on how to make their mulled wine. You can handwrite these yourself or print out the already laid out PDF on some nice paper (as seen in the photos), cut it out and include it with your kit.

How-to Make Mulled Wine:

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• 1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine
• 1 cup water or apple cider
• 1/2 – 1 cup brandy, cognac or orange liqueur, optional
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup honey or raw sugar
• zest and juice from 1 orange
• mulling spices
• 1 spice sachet or pouch

INSTRUCTIONS:
Add the mulling spice mix to the sachet and tie tightly.
Pour the wine into a large sauce pan with the sachet of spices. Add 1 cup of water or apple cider, 1/4-1/2 cup of honey or raw sugar, 1/2 – 1 cup brandy or cognac (optional) and the zest and juice of 1 orange. Do not allow to it come to a boil. Warm over a low heat for at least 1/2 hour, the longer it heats the more flavor it will have. Ladle the mulled wine into mugs. Garnish each mug with an orange wedge or orange peel dropped in and/or a cinnamon stick.

NOTES:
– These spices can also be used to make mulled cider, simply opt for 1 quart of apple cider instead of the wine.
– Add as much or as little sweetener as you’d like, this is a personal preference