flipSpiced Mulled Wine with Honey (vino speziato)
Spiced Mulled Wine with Honey (vino speziato)
Why this dish? Tassi painted seascapes and vaults in all weather, including Rome's damp winter. Honeyed spiced mulled wine, heir to medieval hypocras, warmed the artist and his boys on frosty evenings around the workshop brazier.
Red wine warmed with honey, cinnamon, cloves, and a strip of bitter orange zest: a sweet and fragrant drink that comforted in cold weather and also served, it was believed, as a small remedy for colds.
The Roman winter pierces you to the bone, especially when you paint a frozen vault for hours, your brush stiff. So in the evening, I put the wine on the brazier with honey, cinnamon, two cloves, and the peel of a bitter orange. It perfumes the whole workshop, and a bowl of this nectar gets your blood moving better than a sermon. The doctors say it chases cold humors — I say it chases the blues.
- •Red wine — a pitcher (base)
- •Honey — a few spoonfuls (sweetness)
- •Cinnamon — one stick (spice)
- •Cloves — two or three (spice)
- •Bitter orange peel — one strip (flavor)
- •Long pepper or black peppercorns — a pinch (spicy kick)
Spiced Mulled Wine with Honey (vino speziato)
Red wine warmed with honey, cinnamon, cloves, and a strip of bitter orange zest: a sweet and fragrant drink that comforted in cold weather and also served, it was believed, as a small remedy for colds.
Why this dish? Tassi painted seascapes and vaults in all weather, including Rome's damp winter. Honeyed spiced mulled wine, heir to medieval hypocras, warmed the artist and his boys on frosty evenings around the workshop brazier.
The Roman winter pierces you to the bone, especially when you paint a frozen vault for hours, your brush stiff. So in the evening, I put the wine on the brazier with honey, cinnamon, two cloves, and the peel of a bitter orange. It perfumes the whole workshop, and a bowl of this nectar gets your blood moving better than a sermon. The doctors say it chases cold humors — I say it chases the blues.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red wine — a pitcher (base)
- Honey — a few spoonfuls (sweetness)
- Cinnamon — one stick (spice)
- Cloves — two or three (spice)
- Bitter orange peel — one strip (flavor)
- Long pepper or black peppercorns — a pinch (spicy kick)
Ingredients
- Full-bodied red wine — 75 cl (base)
- Honey — 3 tablespoons (sweetness)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (spice)
- Cloves — 3 (spice)
- Orange zest (unwaxed) — 1 large strip (flavor)
- Peppercorns — 4 (spicy kick)
Method
- Pour the wine into a saucepan with honey, cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, and peppercorns.
- Heat gently without ever boiling, stirring to dissolve the honey.
- Let infuse at a very low simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain and serve hot in bowls or heatproof cups.
How it was made : Spiced sweetened wine descends from medieval hypocras, very popular in the Renaissance and still common in the 17th century. Spices (cinnamon, cloves, pepper), costly, signaled a certain refinement; these hot drinks were believed to have medicinal virtues according to humoral theory, meant to "warm" the body.
The contemporary twist : Served in small cups with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer, it's a very current winter mulled wine — a non-alcoholic version is possible with red grape juice heated with the same spices.
Agostino Tassi · Charactorium
