Mulling over mulled wine

Had guests coming last weekend, so in addition to a few baked treats, I thought I'd try my hand at a mulled wine, a traditional winter beverage.

"Mull" simply describes the process of preparing a drink via heating and spicing. The charm, of course, lies in the drink (usually a wine or ale) being served warm, and in the rich, comforting aroma it gives off.

Just the thing to help turn people's minds away from cold, damp weather.

There are many regional variations of mulled wine and a great many recipes floating about. I've tried a couple of them myself. I was intrigued, though, when I tripped across this recipe by Jamie Oliver.

Hey, from Jamie Oliver. It's gotta be good.

And it was good. Tasted great, in fact. The smell was pleasant, too.

Other pluses were that it was straightforward to prepare and all ingredients were readily available.

The wine was still quite pleasant to sip a day or two afterwards, either at room temperature or slightly re-heated. The wine-infused fruit offered quite a treat, also.

Extra tips:

• While Mr Oliver's directions call for an Italian red, either red or white wine can be used for mulling. Depends on what you prefer, and on what taste you're going after. I'd automatically turn to red, as I generally enjoy reds more.

• For mulling purposes, there's no need to pay dearly for a wine. However, do taste-test your chosen vino — a little heat and a few spices are unlikely to salvage a wine that is just plain dreadful. (I used box wine and it turned out well.) FYI, I'm told that oak-aged wines do not make good candidates for mulling.

• Avoid mulling in pots made of aluminum. This metal will react with the wine's acids, producing an off taste.