I love Christmas and new year, I always have. Now I have children of my own it’s an even more magical as they both love the celebrations.
Even so, there is one holiday season tradition, if tradition is the correct word to use, that I avoid like the plague. That, my friends, would happen to be mulled wine. I have never understood this beverage’s appeal and I never will.
It’s a complete waste of wine. I struggle to see how any wine can be so bad that you;
a) Have to serve it hot and
b) Chuck a load of spices in it.
I mean seriously, there’s a very good reason why you don’t find Merlot tandoori or Pinot Noir masala on the menu of Indian restaurants. It’s because spice and wine do not mix.
As far as I am concerned, mulling wine makes a mediocre or bad wine utterly vile. I mean really, there should be a law against it. Mulled wine hasn’t passed my lips for years and I could happily live without drinking it ever again.
When bad wine comes into this house, it is used for gravy. When I say bad wine, I am, of course, generally referring to Australian wine. The other alternative is Spanish table which, for some unknown reason, never, ever goes off. In fact we’ve accidentally left opened bottles of Spanish table wine lurking around in the kitchen cupboard for months and found it perfectly serviceable for gravy.
I think I have made my thoughts about mulled wine perfectly clear. What do you think? Is it an acceptable beverage, or do you politely decline?
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8 thoughts on “Mulled wine; vile or nice?”
Erm… I politely decline. Disgusting stuff. Bleurgh!
Glad to hear it. Very sensible approach.
I politely decline.
Well, I try to be polite, anyway. Vile stuff. A travesty of what wine can be.
So you don’t like mulled wine?
This blog is almost as daft as saying you don’t like cheese based on eating cheddar as a child. What if I offered you Brie or cooked you pasta then gave you Parmesan?
You don’t have to have liked the mulled wine you have been offered in the past and the fact you’ve managed to convert theses feelings into hundreds of needless words will not hamper my continuing enjoyment of the mulled wine I make.
It’s a diverse world, embrace it.
As a libertarian, I shall exercise my right to convert my feelings into “needless words” whenever I wish. Thank you for commenting and enjoy your mulled wine. Just please don’t offer me any (…although I sense this is unlikely).
John, it is an acceptable beverage (in my opinion). I enjoy it in the run-up to Christmas, on occasion, in a nice pub after a stint of shopping. (This scene depicts the one and only time I had it this year, and I am unlikely to have it again until a similar situation arises next year). I wouldn’t be in a hurry to consume it, let alone make it, otherwise. I hope this helps!
Great post John – this has me laughing. Mulled wine is a bone of contention in my house. I love hubby hates which usually means I only get to mull (?) one bottle the entire holiday. Love your take on using bad wine for gravy, I use it for cooking too.
I wholeheartedly agree with this.