Mulled Wine

adapted from Anna Jones and Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 750ml bottle red wine the more full-bodied, the better; think Gamay, Grenache, Merlot, Syrah, or Cabernet Sauvignon vs. a lean Pinot Noir
2 oranges or 3 or 4 smaller mandarins
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
8 cloves
2–4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or some of each (I like 3T honey + 1T maple); alternatively, you can use sugar or simple syrup

Instructions

Pour wine into a large saucepan. With a paring knife, peel a curlicue of zest from one orange (or use a vegetable peeler) and add to wine. Juice the orange into the wine and warm over low heat. (I like the pulp, but if you prefer, you can strain the juice before adding.)
Cut the second orange into circles, rind and all, and add those to the saucepan along with the spices. Stir in honey/maple syrup tablespoon by tablespoon, tasting to determine how sweet you like it.
Raise the heat a touch to coax flavor from the zest and spices, but do not boil. Think barely a simmer otherwise you risk boiling off the alcohol, which would be no fun at all!
Heat for 15 minutes (if you have a lid use it) then turn off the heat and let steep until you want to serve it, at which point, reheat it without boiling and ladle into mugs leaving the orange slices and spices in the saucepan.

Recipe Notes / Tips

Anna Jones includes a Vanilla and Lime variation in her wonderful book, The Modern Cook's Year. As an approximation: swap one of the oranges in this recipe for a lime and add a split vanilla bean with the spices.
Eat the stewed orange slices, they're tasty, if a bit messy. I like them with full-fat Greek yogurt.