It’s Christmas in a minute or two, and from my windows overlooking the big lakes of Copenhagen I watch people rushing back and forth in the typical December rain. They’re probably leaving one Christmas party to go to the next. This month is not only about stressful giftshopping or Christmas Eve preparations or even killing trees in massive numbers.

No, we also enjoy a Christmas parties galore here in Denmark — at the school, at the local gym team, in the shops, on the job — and everyone serves glögg, the sweet red wine-based Christmas drink that you Americans call “mulled wine”. By the time you reach Dec 10th you’re ready to throw yourself over an icy cliff the next time someone offers you a cup of this, but until then it’s actually quite nice.

It’s a good excuse for moms to get their drank on while taking part in their kids’ kindergarten daytime Christmas party, boozing it up with the other high-strung, over-achieving power women in the corner who want to breed perfect kids, make a successful career and be hot as hell in bed. They usually fail in the first category — modern kids are nasty, seriously. Needless to say, a good intoxicating cup of hot glögg or three can take the edge off for a little while.

Most peeps just buy this stuff in a carton, heat it, throw in some Glögg Mix consisting of pre-chopped almonds and raisins and pour it down their throat. But since this is a food blog I have tried to make it from scratch, following some guidelines I found online. And surprisingly, it’s really easy and quick!

*WARNING: This is the Devil’s blood though. Unless you boil the shit out of this glögg and thereby lose the alcohol, it’s still red wine and you’re gon’ get DRUNK if you can’t stay away from the bowl, bitches! Soon you’ll find yourself grabbing Santa’s balls at your Christian neighbour’s Christmas party and it won’t be pretty. So please keep this in mind while scooping up the raisins soaked in alcohol, and licking the sugar off the glass. This stuff is like crack.

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INGREDIENTS
Serves 4-5 people

1 bottle of red wine
1 whole stick of cinnamon
2-3 cardamom pods
1/2 organic lemon
85 g sugar (2/3 cup)
2 Pomerans (Seville orange or “bitter orange”)
12 whole cloves
100 g raisins (about 3/4 cup)
100 g almonds (about 3/4 cup)

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RECIPE  AT-A-GLANCE

1) Pour the red wine in a pot and put the cinnamon and cardamom in a little cheese cloth with the wine so it can give off spicy vibes.

2) Warm up the wine almost to the boiling point, turn off under the pot and let it sit with the lid on for 5 min.

3) Stick the cloves into the pomeran oranges and place them in a heated (glass) bowl along with the raisins and almonds (preferably blanched).

4) Zest the half lemon, squeeze its juice out and put it all into the wine pot along with the sugar.

5) Pour the wine into the heated bowl and let it sit for 2-3 min with a cloth on top.

6) Serve in small glass mugs with a spoon.

7) Super easy — and something your friends will definitely find interesting! Goes well with æbleskiver (Danish donut holes), waffles, pepper cookies and other traditional Christmas sweets.

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So I gave it all a go at home. I made half a portion since it was only me and it was a test.

This is a bottle of red wine, that’s about what I know about that stuff. It was about $10 which the cheapest you can go here in DK without drinking pure acid.

I spend a fortune on spices since the only place you can find them are at the farmer’s market where you pay $6 for a little bag with 25g.

Pomerans/ Seville oranges are sugar boiled orange peels which are spicy/bitter/chewy. Very x-massy.

More fruit: organic lemon.

I forgot to buy whole cinnamon sticks at the farmer’s market so all I had at home was organic grounded cinnamon. That’ll have to do this time.

Cloves – these are essential for glögg, they’re the epitome of Christmas flavours and smells!

Big bag of organic raisins, it was the smallest I could get. Eugh, I hate raisin. What am I gonna do with all these???

Almonds – I was too lazy to blanch them, sorry. They really should be blanched, but since it’s only me drinking this – who cares?

Whole cardamom. I’d never seen these before, but God they smell good!

Open the wine and pour it all into a pot on the stove. I actually thought cork was out of fashion here in 2011? Is it back in again?

Since I didn’t prepare well enough and had no cheese cloth, I decided to try and use my tea filter. Which would work if I had actually remembered buying whole cinnamon sticks.

So in the end I decide to chuck it all into the pot and filter afterwards.

Heat it up! Almost til it boils. The leave for 5 min with lid on.

Stick the cloves into the pomeran orange. Seriously, can this be a more iconic Christmas activity? Old school.

Zest the lemon…

…then squeeze the juice out.

Organic sugar.

When everything’s ready, pour it all into the hot wine. Stir well.

Find a big glass bowl somewhere in your kitchen. It should be pretty. If all you have is a wooden salad bowl like me, use it (but shame on you). Christmas should be aesthtically pleasing.

We can share the shame.

Place the underwater mine pomeran on the bottom and sprinkle the raisins and almonds on top. I really should’ve blanched those almonds, but maybe this is more healthy…?

Now, filter the red wine to avoid big cardamom capsules in your mouth later on. Of course I skipped this step as well.

Pour over the hot wine.

Since it’s only half full I chose to turn the pomeran upside down so it’ll soak up the flavours better.
Cover the bowl for a few minutes with a clean cloth and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Most people actually leave it on the heat and turn it on now and then to keep it warm.

Now serve in small glasses. Or big, like me.

Remember to provide a small spoon so people can scoop up the raisins and almonds.

WOW! This stuff is good! Surprisingly good actually. Even better than the store bought, factory-perfected cartons they sell here in Denmark.

And of course I had one big glass and already felt the hammer on my forehead, bam. I usually don’t drink much so the Devil’s Blood hits hard.

Enjoy! Happy holidays and love from Copenhagen, Denmark, Skankynavia.

By Erin Gleeson
Originally posted on August 10, 2010.

Sipping and sharing wine plays a big part in many religions. So to go wine tasting near Jerusalem, perhaps drinking from the same vines that produced wine in biblical times, had more historical significance than your average day at the vineyard. Three friends and I went to a few vineyards in the Ella Valley and the Judean Hills, about a half hour drive from the old city of Jerusalem and less than an hour from Tel Aviv. One we visited, Tzora Vineyards, was larger and more commercial. Another was on a kibbutz.

My favorite, Zafririm Winery, one was on a Moshav– which is a sort of commune in which families do their own thing. After following a few handmade signs in Hebrew directing us down a dirt road toward a mini winery, we found a family of four working away in a wine cellar– I think they said they only produced six barrels. They invited us in for some of the best wine we tasted that day– blends of different grapes creating something like a Bordeuax. We bought a few cherished bottles and spoke with the mother while her husband and sons made wine behind us.

Our last stop, Hans Sternbach Vineyard ,was at  a little winery where a man offered us a (way too long) tour with tasting for $10. Despite the length, it was one of the prettiest places to sit- under a canopy of vines, looking out onto the hills of Judea.. a perfect place to end the afternoon.

The Judean Hills:

Behind the Zafririm Winery is an olive grove and a vineyard:

Making Wine at Zafririm:

Hans Sternbach’s stunning view:

Sipping and sharing wine plays a big part in many religions. So to go wine tasting near Jerusalem, perhaps drinking from the same vines that produced wine in biblical times, had more historical significance than your average day at the vineyard. Three friends and I went to a few vineyards in the Ella Valley and the Judean Hills, about a half hour drive from the old city of Jerusalem and less than an hour from Tel Aviv. One we visited, Tzora Vineyards, was larger and more commercial. Another was on a kibbutz.

My favorite, Zafririm Winery, one was on a Moshav– which is a sort of commune in which families do their own thing. After following a few handmade signs in Hebrew directing us down a dirt road toward a mini winery, we found a family of four working away in a wine cellar– I think they said they only produced six barrels. They invited us in for some of the best wine we tasted that day– blends of different grapes creating something like a Bordeuax. We bought a few cherished bottles and spoke with the mother while her husband and sons made wine behind us.

Our last stop, Hans Sternbach Vineyard ,was at  a little winery where a man offered us a (way too long) tour with tasting for $10. Despite the length, it was one of the prettiest places to sit- under a canopy of vines, looking out onto the hills of Judea.. a perfect place to end the afternoon.

The Judean Hills:

Behind the Zafririm Winery is an olive grove and a vineyard:

Making Wine at Zafririm:

Hans Sternbach’s stunning view:

Wine to be served at a private dinner for a Bordeaux society meeting.

The Knickerbocker Club. Upper East Side, NYC.

photo © erin gleeson

Left over wine after dinner at the James Beard House.

A few weeks back, my bff Kristi, Nate and I stopped by Preston Creek Winery on our way back from the Ladhabhoy nuptials in Healdsburg, Sonoma County (I went to a total of seven weddings this year- that’s IT! NO MORE PLEASE!). Nate had heard about Preston and their organically grown wines from his vino connoisseur pops, so we decided to take a drive out to Dry Creek Valley and check it out.

I’m not gonna spend too much time talking about the winery cause I want to focus on this awesome jug of wine, the “Guadagni” that they have available on SUNDAYS ONLY.

So on Sundays, you get to go down into the barrel room in the back, where oak barrel after barrels are stacked on top of each other. Here is where you can get your special Sunday Guadagni jug of wine.

This is how it goes: someone from the winery will grab an empty 3 liter jug and literally fill up this special Guadagni wine right there in front of you.

Then, she takes a new label and stamps this cute Italo-clown design right onto the label– only then, does she stick the label onto the jug.

What’s so special about the packaging here is not only the outcome of the final product, but the process in which it was put together– it makes the packaging that much more memorable. The jug! Filling it up right in front of you! The label! The stamp! All genius.

God I am such a PACKAGING WHORE.

This has become quite the Sunday tradition for the neighborhood folks, as I saw a bunch of people walk in with their own jugs to get refilled. You get a few bucks off for doing this, plus a new label each time, right over the previous one- there were some jugs that were nearly 20 labels deep! Love it!

The wine itself is an homage to Jim Guadagni, who was the unofficial Dry Creek mayor of sorts. His instincts and knowledge about soil and wine-making ran super deep, and he was much loved by the community. The stamp drawing was designed by Susan Preston, the resident artist/ head mistress of the winery– it reminds me adorable Gelsomina from La Strada.

Guadagni is mostly a Zinfandel blend, with Cinsault, Carignane and Mataro. It’s a jammy, purple wine, which totally reminds me of the cheaper-than-water table stuff we drank every day in Italy.

The jug cost $32, and is the equivalent of four bottles of wine (if I did my math right). I read this money book a few months ago that told me to start buying in bulk, so I’m just following orders here. It lasts for up to six months so I figure I’ll crack it open on Tday or take it to a dinner party. Can’t wait!

PRESTON OF DRY CREEK WINERY & VINEYARDS
9282 West Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA
707.433.3372

*Kayoko currently lives in Cupertino, CA. She had Korean BBQ last night and despite several showers, still smells like a Garlic/Smoke/Beef Factory.

Since moving to California, I’ve become a bit of a drunk. I’m not sure if it’s out of boredom of living in Cupertino, in the house I grew up in, right across the street from my high school. It could be that I’m almost 30 and living with my parents. Or maybe that I’m single and totally not getting any love from these fine Silicon Valley men. Oh, I know, it’s because I bus tables for a living.

So why the hell shouldn’t I have a drink in the middle of the day? I deserve it!!! The Europeans have it right- they drink wine with their lunch and then take a nap. GENIUS.

I’ve adapted this practice into my own humble Cupertino life. I have a glass of rose or Sauvignon Blanc with my meal at noon, and I no longer feel guilty about it. I’ve completely embraced drinking mid-day, it’s awesome.

So how awesome was it when I discovered this recipe in the new Food and Wine, by Babbo pastry chef Gina DePalma: RED WINE SPAGHETTI. I felt like my prayers had been answered from the gods. I mean, why not double up on my daily alcohol intake by adding wine to my pasta water?? Makes perfect sense to me.

Add red wine to water. Recipe says 5 cups water to 3 cups wine. I made this just for myself though so just estimated and put in about 1/3 wine to 2/3 water.

Bring to boil. Add pasta.

Drain. Looks like soba noodles!!!

I sauteed with sausages (of course) and roasted peppers and garlic, adding parmesan and ground pepper in the end.

How did this taste?? Honestly, it tasted just like regular pasta. Jud-san had commented that he thought this seemed like a waste of wine, and it sorta is. I guess if you have bad wine lying around, this would be a way to subtlely add a different layer of flavor. The alcohol flavor.

At the end of the day though, if I had a decent bottle of wine, I wouldn’t pour half of it into a pot to boil pasta. I’ll drink it straight from my glass, thanks. CHIN CHIN!!!

The wine was crisp and dry- not sweet at all. It would have gone well with some mild cheese and charcuterie.

Note the awesome cork design- I had never seen anything like it, it’s literally jammed shut, creating a triangular dip. Sorry, you can’t really see here that well, but it was neat!

You can just pop off this black thing and then get to poppin!

Big thanks to Marc for this special wine, and big congratulations to Sepi and Amira!!!

Hailing from St. Helena, CA, Bandit is made by Three Thieves, a winery who puts out various other wines in status quo glass bottles. The boxed stuff, Bandit, includes a full line with the Pinot, plus a Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay.

I totally dig the neon green, and the funky type. Packaging Whore alert! It’s light, easy to pack, perfect for picnics, and most importantly, is the equivalent of 1 1/3 of a normal bottle of wine. Fantastique!

This was a very drinkable, crisp, and fruity Pinot. The girl at LeNell’s said that Bandit has a strong following, and is not available just anywhere. Pick it up if you are lucky enough to find it at your wine shop!