Wouldn’t it be nice if we could bottle the cozy
mulled wine of holiday parties and snowy ski weekends to sip whenever we want?
And maybe not cook all the booze away?
We can.
In fact, we’ve been doing it since the 1300s. I’m talking about a spiced red wine called ypocras, unearthed from medieval times and modernized by Anne Willan, food historian, cookbook author, and founder of La Varenne cooking school.
In fact, we’ve been doing it since the 1300s. I’m talking about a spiced red wine called ypocras, unearthed from medieval times and modernized by Anne Willan, food historian, cookbook author, and founder of La Varenne cooking school.
Like sangria, ypocras is
never cooked—it’s simply infused with spices and sugar at room temperature, so
the booze doesn’t fizzle away. As Willan explains, this method “was a way of
preserving wine before bottles and corks,” and the spiced wine will keep for a
month. It also happens to be lovely for sipping: sweet and winey like port, with
four heady spices breathing in the fire of a harder aperitif.
It’s a simple potion to make—mix spices with brown
sugar and wine, wait a day or two, strain. If you can find mace and grains of
paradise (available at specialty grocers or online), you will be authentically
medieval. If not, you can substitute an equal amount of nutmeg and black pepper,
respectively.
Bookmark this recipe for the holidays. It’s also
good to keep around—to sip after dinner, or before, or with steak, cheese, or
cookies, or when you’re in the bathtub. Just like they did in the
1300s.
Makes about 3 cups
(750ml)
1 cup (200g) lightly packed brown
sugar
1 tablespoon ground
cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground mace (or
substitute an equal amount of grated nutmeg)
1½ teaspoons ground
cloves
1½ teaspoons ground grains of
paradise (or substitute an equal amount of freshly ground black
pepper)
1 bottle (750ml) fruity red wine,
such as Merlot
1 In a nonreactive bowl, stir together the brown sugar,
cinnamon, mace, cloves, and grains of paradise. Add the wine and stir well.
Leave for 10 minutes, then stir again to dissolve the sugar fully. Cover tightly
and leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.
2 Strain the wine mixture through a strainer lined with
a double layer of cheesecloth into a bowl. A brown deposit will be left on the
cheesecloth. Rinse it off and strain the wine at least once more through the
cheesecloth to clarify it as well as possible. Store the wine in an airtight
container (if you like, use the original bottle) at room temperature. It will
keep for up to 1 month.
NOTE: If you’d like to grind your own spices, allow ¼
ounce (7g) per tablespoon.
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