Hõõgvein

Ingredients

The wine

• 1.5 litresred wine
• a soft fruity one
• 120 gsugar
• or 4 tablespoons honey

Spices

• 3cinnamon sticks
• 12whole cloves
• 4star anise
• 1 teaspoonwhole allspice berries
• 3cm fresh ginger, sliced
• 1vanilla pod, split, optional

Fruit and nuts

• 2oranges, sliced
• 1apple, sliced
• 100 graisins
• 100 gblanched almonds

Alcohol-free version

• 1.5 litresapple or blackcurrant juice
• the same spices and fruit

Sometimes added

• a shot of vodka or rum

Directions

1. Keep it at a bare steam instead. Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic at all. 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.
2. Put the raisins in a small bowl. Cover them with a little hot water. Let them plump up for twenty minutes. Drain them before they go into the pot. Preparing the fruit takes a moment. 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 apple up thinly as well. Pour about a third of the wine into a pot. Add the toasted spices and the sliced ginger. Add the split vanilla pod if using it. Add the sliced fruit to the pot. 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 about 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 sugar is done off the heat. Take the pot right off the heat first. Stir the sugar in until it dissolves. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. Add more if it seems too sharp.
6. Warm the juice in a separate pot entirely. Add the same toasted spices and fruit. Let it steep for about fifteen minutes. Sweeten it to taste, less than the wine needs.
7. Put a spoonful of raisins in each mug first. Add a few blanched almonds with them. Pour the hot wine over the top of that. 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

• Nordic and Baltic mulled wines include raisins and almonds that sit in the bottom of the mug and are eaten with a spoon at the end, as in Swedish glogg and Finnish glogi; that is not the case further south in Europe.
• Estonia claims one of the earliest recorded public Christmas trees, in Tallinn in fourteen forty-one, with Riga making a competing claim for fifteen ten; both claims are disputed and neither is settled.
• An alcohol-free version made with apple or blackcurrant juice and the same spices is sold alongside and served to children at the same stalls, so keep the two clearly labelled apart.

Substitutions

• Apple or blackcurrant juice replaces the wine entirely for the alcohol-free version.
• Honey stands in for sugar and gives a rounder sweetness.

Variations

• Some stalls add a shot of vodka or rum to order.
• Raisins soaked in rum rather than water are used by some.
• Glogg in Sweden and glogi in Finland are the closest relatives.

History

A December fixture on Tallinn’s Town Hall Square, also poured alcohol-free for children.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hõõgvein?

Hõõgvein is a cocktail from Estonia: mulled wine with spices, sold in mugs at Tallinn’s Christmas market. A December fixture on Tallinn’s Town Hall Square, also poured alcohol-free for children.

How long does Hõõgvein take to make?

Hõõgvein 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 Hõõgvein?

Yes, within limits. Apple or blackcurrant juice replaces the wine entirely for the alcohol-free version. Honey stands in for sugar and gives a rounder sweetness.

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

Keep it at a bare steam instead. Use a soft and fruity red wine. It should not be heavily tannic at all. 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.