Kuhano vino

Ingredients

The wine

• 1.5 litresred wine
• a soft Slovenian red
• teran or refošk if you can
• 150 gsugar
• or 5 tablespoons honey

Spices

• 3cinnamon sticks
• 10whole cloves
• 6allspice berries
• 2star anise, optional
• a pinch of grated nutmeg

Fruit

• 2oranges, sliced
• 1lemon, sliced
• 1apple, sliced, optional

Sometimes added

• a shot of rum
• or slivovka, plum brandy
• a strip of orange peel

Directions

1. Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic at all. Warm alcohol is absorbed faster than cold. Never drink it before skiing or driving.
2. Keep it at a bare steam instead. Put the whole spices in a dry pan. Warm them over a medium low heat. Give them about two full minutes. Shake the pan as they warm through. They should smell noticeably stronger. Wash the oranges very thoroughly. Waxed fruit should be scrubbed well.
3. Slice them all into thin rounds. Keep the peel on, since it carries the oil. Slice the lemon up in the same way. Slice the fruit rather than juicing it. Strain the fruit out after twenty minutes.
4. Pour about a third of the wine into a pot. Add the toasted whole spices to it. Add the sliced fruit to the pot. Warm it gently over a low heat. Let it steep very gently for ten minutes. The cold wine brings the temperature down. Warm the whole pot through gently. Bring it to a bare steam only. Never let it bubble at all here.
5. Hold it there for about fifteen minutes. Judging the temperature takes attention. Steam should rise from the surface. No bubbles should break it at all. Turn the heat right down if it starts to bubble. Adding the sugar is done off the heat.
6. Take the pot right off the heat first. Stir the sugar in until it dissolves. Add it off the heat every time. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. Different wines need different amounts. Taste it rather than measuring blindly. Add a shot of rum off the heat. That is done at some stalls and huts.
7. Strain out the fruit and spices. Do it after about twenty minutes. Pour it into warmed mugs or glasses. Add a fresh orange slice to each one. Add a cinnamon stick if you like. It is drunk standing in the cold.

Technique

• Alcohol boils well below the boiling point of water and evaporates off long before the wine boils, and boiling also concentrates the tannins harshly, giving a thin bitter drink; keep it at a bare steam around seventy degrees with no bubbles breaking the surface.
• Slovenian kuhano vino keeps to wine, spice and citrus, where Nordic and Baltic mulled wines add raisins and almonds to the glass; teran and refošk, the sharp Karst and coastal reds, make a good base, though any soft fruity red works and heavily tannic wine does not.
• Citrus oil sits in the coloured peel and that oil is what perfumes the wine, so slice the fruit rather than juicing it; but the white pith is bitter, so strain the fruit out after about twenty minutes rather than leaving it in all evening.

Substitutions

• Honey in place of sugar gives a rounder flavour, added off the heat.
• Any soft fruity red works where teran or refošk are unavailable.

Variations

• A shot of rum or slivovka is added at some stalls and mountain huts.
• The sweetness varies with the wine, so taste rather than measure.
• Glögg, glühwein and karstvīns are the same idea across the region.

History

The standard drink of Ljubljana’s December market and Slovenian ski slopes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kuhano vino?

Kuhano vino is a cocktail from Slovenia: red wine mulled with cinnamon, cloves and orange, poured at winter stalls. The standard drink of Ljubljana’s December market and Slovenian ski slopes.

How long does Kuhano vino take to make?

Kuhano vino takes 10 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kuhano vino?

Yes, within limits. Honey in place of sugar gives a rounder flavour, added off the heat. Any soft fruity red works where teran or refošk are unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kuhano vino?

Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic at all. Warm alcohol is absorbed faster than cold. Never drink it before skiing or driving.