Recipe: Mulled Wine

marcoveringa @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

​Because the farmers' markets are mostly closed this week, here is an extra recipe for you all. Drink enough of this and you won't care that you can't get your Chinese long beans or grass-fed bison.

1 - 750 mL bottle decent red wine
750 mL apple cider (unpasteurized is best)
1/2 cup mulling spices (see note)
1 - 750 mL bottle Martinelli's sparkling apple juice
1 - 750 mL bottle decent sparkling wine (Champagne, cava, etc.)

1. Pour the red wine and still apple cider into a pot.
2. Put the mulling spices in a mulling ball, tea ball or tied scrap of clean cloth and suspend in the liquid.
3. Heat until bubbles start to break along the edge of the pot, then turn off the heat, cover tightly and let cool completely. Discard the spices.
4. Reheat gently, then transfer to a slow cooker set on low. Add the sparkling apple juice and sparkling wine.

Note about mulling spices: you can buy these most places, but if you want to make your own, create a mixture of splintered cinnamon sticks, cloves, whole allspice and citrus zest.