Word for Wednesday: Mulled Wine

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Happy December! 

This month’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink.  

Our first choice of the month is a seasonal favourite—mulled wine. 

Mulled wine is wine that is heated with sugar, spices, and often citrus fruit. Other popular mulled drinks include mulled cider, mulled apple juice, and hot toddy. 

The word ‘mull’ has been used to describe the process of heating a drink with sweeteners and spices since the 1600s. While the origin of this word is unknown, there may be a link with the Dutch word ‘mol’ which was used to describe a sweet beer. ‘Mull’ has also been used in English to mean ‘ponder’ since 1873. 

Wine comes from the Old English ‘win’, from the Proto-Germanic ‘winam’ which was an early borrowing from the Latin ‘vinum’. 

Heated and spiced wine was drunk in Rome as early as the second century. In German-speaking countries a drink called Glühwein (‘smouldering wine’) is often served over the Christmas season. Like mulled wine, Glühwein is made by heating red wine with spices.  

What is your favourite thing to eat or drink over the festive period? 
 


02 Dec 2020
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