Grzane wino or Polish mulled wine is a delicious warm red wine drink spiced with aromatic spices and sweetened with raspberry syrup and honey. It´s warm, delicious, and perfect for cold winter nights!
Polish mulled wine
You may wonder what is the difference between Polish mulled wine and German or Scandinavian mulled wine. It is basically the same recipe with a couple of small differences.
You could make any German/Austrian mulled wine recipe and also call it Polish, it´s just that similar. What distinguishes some Polish mulled wine recipes from other countries´ mulled wine recipes is that it´s often prepared with the addition of raspberry syrup. It is something I often drank in restaurants in Cracow where I did my internship.
Raspberry syrup is one of those Polish home remedies that (at least according to my grandma) are said to be good for cold. Raspberry syrup is also often added to a tee. Raspberry syrup is not complicated or laborious to make – you just need to cook raspberries with sugar for a couple of minutes then strain through a sieve.
My other mulled wine recipes you may enjoy:
Grzane wino means “warm wine” in Polish and not mulled wine. “Grzane” means that it´s warmed up and “wino” means wine. It´s called either “grzane wino” or “grzaniec” (a short form of grzane wino).
See all our Polish Christmas recipes.
Ingredients
Here´s what you need to make this recipe:
- Red wine – simply use a kind of red wine that you like to drink. You don´t need to use a pricey wine for this recipe – all the nuances in flavor won´t be noticeable. What´s important is that it needs to be a dry red wine, not a semi-sweet or a sweet wine. This mulled wine recipe is already sweetened so if you use a sweet wine it will come out too sweet.
- Orange – preferably organic because we will be using the zest and the juice.
- Raspberry syrup – for a homemade raspberry syrup you need just frozen raspberries, brown sugar (or white sugar), lemon juice (optional), and water. You can also use store-bought raspberry syrup but it may be sweeter than a homemade syrup so maybe you will need to omit the honey in this recipe (sweeten the wine to your desired sweetness).
- Honey – is traditionally added to Polish mulled wine because it is such a traditional Polish ingredient. I like to use honey in all my mulled wine recipes but not too much because it can easily overpower the wine.
- Spices – cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, star anise, cloves, vanilla extract (or 1/2 of a vanilla pod). You need to use whole spices and not ground spices. They will infuse wine with amazing flavor and won´t make it cloudy or gritty. You could use ground spices in a pinch but be careful and don´t add too much.
You could also add a splash of rum/brandy/vodka to your mulled wine. Mulled wine is not a strong drink – it´s diluted with orange juice and although is heated very carefully over low heat, some of the alcohol will always evaporate. A stronger alcohol such as vodka/rum/brady is often added to mulled wine to make it stronger. I usually add about 3 tablespoons of a stronger alcohol for 1 bottle or wine. You need to add the alcohol to the mulled wine just before serving.
How to make grzane wino step by step
First, you are going to make homemade raspberry syrup.
Simply add all the ingredients for the syrup (raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water) to a small pot. Bring to a boil then cook for 5-10 minutes or until all the raspberries are thawed and broken down and the sauce is slightly thickened. Strain through a sieve and discard the seeds.
Make the mulled wine:
Add the raspberry syrup and all the other ingredients for the mulled wine to a medium pot.
Heat the wine over lowest heat, for about 20-30 minutes, until very hot but not simmering or boiling (you can check the temperature with a thermometer, it should not exceed 167°F / 75°C).
Ladle the wine to heatproof glasses, serve warm.
Enjoy!
Storage
Strain the wine and keep in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. It tastes really good reheated. Don´t leave the spices for too long in the wine (not longer than overnight) or the wine may come out too spiced.
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Grzane Wino (Polish Mulled Wine)
Ingredients
mulled wine:
- 1 bottle (750ml) dry red wine
- 1/4 cup (60ml) raspberry syrup (see recipe below)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 star anise
- 2 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 1 small orange sliced
- 1/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla pod
raspberry syrup:
- 1 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Make raspberry syrup: add raspberries, lemon juice, sugar, and water into a small pot. Bring to a boil then cook for 5-10 minutes or until all the raspberries are thawed and broken down and the sauce is slightly thickened. Strain through a sieve and discard the seeds.
- Add the raspberry syrup and all the other ingredients for the mulled wine to a medium pot.
- Heat the wine over lowest heat, for about 20-30 minutes, until very hot but not simmering or boiling (you can check the temperature with a thermometer, it should not exceed 167°F / 75°C).
- Ladle the wine to heatproof glasses, serve warm.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also add a couple of fresh raspberries 3-4 minutes before the end of cooking time (to soften slightly). Ladle mulled wine with the raspberries to glasses. They are delicious to eat while sipping on the drink.
- To make the drink stronger, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy or white rum to the mulled wine, just before serving.
- Storage: Strain the wine and keep in the fridge for up to 1-2 days. It tastes really good reheated. Don´t leave the spices for too long in the wine (not longer than overnight) or the wine may come out too spiced.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/4 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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