Glintveinas

Ingredients

The wine

• 1.5 litresred wine
• a soft fruity one
• 4 tablespoonshoney
• or 120 g sugar

Spices

• 3cinnamon sticks
• 10whole cloves
• 4star anise
• 1 teaspoonwhole allspice berries
• 3cm fresh ginger, sliced
• a strip of orange peel

Fruit

• 2oranges, sliced
• 1apple, sliced
• 100 gcranberries, optional
• 100 graisins, optional

For children

• 1.5 litrescranberry juice
• in place of the wine
• the same spices and honey

Directions

1. Keep it at a bare steam instead. Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic. Put the whole spices in a dry pan. Warm them over a medium low heat. Give them about two full minutes.
2. Shake the pan as they warm through. They should smell noticeably stronger. Wash the oranges very thoroughly. Waxed fruit should be scrubbed well. Slice them all into thin rounds. Keep the peel on, since it carries the oil. Slice the apple up thinly as well. Pour about a third of the wine into a pot.
3. Add the toasted spices and the ginger. Add the sliced fruit and the orange peel. Add the cranberries and raisins if using them. Warm it gently over a low heat.
4. Let it simmer 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. Hold it there for fifteen minutes. Judging the temperature takes attention. Steam should rise from the surface. No bubbles should break it at all.
5. Turn the heat right down if it starts to bubble. Adding the honey is done off the heat. Take the pot off the heat entirely. Stir the honey in until it dissolves. Taste it and adjust the sweetness.
6. Warm the cranberry juice in a separate pot. Add the same toasted spices and fruit. Let it steep for fifteen minutes. Stir in the honey to your taste. It needs more honey than the wine does. Strain it and then serve it hot. Leaving them in keeps infusing it. Pour it into thick mugs or heatproof glasses.
7. Add a fresh orange slice to each one. Add a cinnamon stick if you like. Keep the two versions clearly apart. Label them so nobody takes the wrong one. Warm alcohol is absorbed faster than cold. Never drive after drinking it.

Technique

• The name comes from German Gluhwein with a Lithuanian ending, the same borrowing that gave Russian glintvein.
• A non-alcoholic version replaces the wine with cranberry juice, using the same spices and honey, and is served to children at the same stalls; cranberries grow wild in Lithuanian bogs and the juice is sharp enough to carry the spices, though it needs more honey than the wine does.
• Keep the two versions clearly apart and labelled at a gathering, so nobody takes the wrong one.

Substitutions

• Sugar stands in for honey, though the sweetness is flatter.
• Cranberry juice replaces the wine entirely for the children’s version.

Variations

• Star anise is prominent in the Baltic versions.
• Some stalls add a shot of spirit to order.
• Glintvein in Russia and forralt bor in Hungary are the same idea.

History

Sold in Vilnius Cathedral Square through Advent, often made with cranberry juice for children.

Frequently asked questions

What is Glintveinas?

Glintveinas is a cocktail from Lithuania: mulled red wine with honey and spices at Christmas markets. Sold in Vilnius Cathedral Square through Advent, often made with cranberry juice for children.

How long does Glintveinas take to make?

Glintveinas 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 Glintveinas?

Yes, within limits. Sugar stands in for honey, though the sweetness is flatter. Cranberry juice replaces the wine entirely for the children’s version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Glintveinas?

Keep it at a bare steam instead. Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic. Put the whole spices in a dry pan. Warm them over a medium low heat. Give them about two full minutes.