How to Make Mulled Wine in a Crockpot

how to make mulled wine directions

The holidays are upon us, and sometimes it gets tricky deciding what wines or libations to serve at your holiday party. These cold, brisk nights are perfect for warm & cozy drinks. You’ll love our easy crock-pot recipe for mulled wine. Just make a large batch, adjust the spices to taste, and serve with a fresh slice of orange to impress your guests. Watch the video below and learn how to make mulled wine at home this winter season.

There are different variations from country to country but it is generally a heated spiced wine. With no exact recipe for mulled wine, it is all based upon one’s taste and preference. However, the basics are:

What You Need:
A crockpot
Dry red wine or White wine – not too minerally or tannic
Cinnamon sticks
Cardamom
Cloves
Star Anise
Sugar/Simple Syrup (1/2 cup to 2 cups)
Lemon peel
Oranges

Directions:
Make sure the crock pot is large enough to hold a bottle of wine and pour it in. Turn it on low and add the desired amount of spices. Be careful with the Star Anise because it is very powerful. Add about ½ a cup of sugar to start with and as the wine mulls, taste it along the way & add more if needed. Last but not least add the slices of oranges & lemon peels for that last little kick of zest.

Heat it till warmed & the wine has taken on the desired amount of flavors from the spice. Serve in ceramic or glass mugs for a true European experience.

red and white wine mulled wine ingredients
Look at those burlap satchels full of mulled wine spices! Ready to go!

In the Rhode Island area? Stop by our wine store at 141 Pitman Street, Providence, RI and pick up our pre-made mulled wine satchels to make your own batch of mulled wine.

Cheers & Happy Holidays!
Bottles Fine Wine
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A Guide to Choosing Thanksgiving Wines

Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner is a big deal and picking the wines to be served can be a nerve-racking challenge. To take some of the difficulty out of it, we’ve come up with this handy guide to help navigate the choppy seas of choosing wine for Turkey Day.
  • Serve wines that you like. Thanksgiving Dinner isn’t the best time to serve wines that you’re not familiar with. We recommend serving wines or at least varietals that are tried and true. For example, though Beaujolais and Gewürztraminer are widely considered to be perfect Thanksgiving pairings, it’s best not to serve them unless you know that you and your guests will like them. Also, if there’s wine left over from your dinner, you want to make sure that you like the wines because you’ll be the one drinking them the days following your Feast. Remember: if you’re a rewards member, we can look in your purchase history and tell you exactly when and what that bottle of wine was that you loved.
Every day I’m hustlin’!
  • Do some research a few weeks before your dinner. So it’s been decided that you’re hosting – Great! Hopefully you’ve been given a few weeks notice so you have some time to try out potential wines for your Thanksgiving Dinner. You will see special orange tags all around the store with wines that we have chosen especially for the big dinner and we have a giant wine display that features wines that we feel are perfect pairings for Thanksgiving. Lastly, if you have any questions, ask any of us, we are really good at making wine and food pairing recommendations.
  • How much wine will you need? The short answer is more than you think. Let’s break it down: One bottle = four glasses — Each guest will have at least two glasses of wine (even if there will be cocktails and/or beer available), so at a bare minimum you will need one bottle for every two people attending. So for example, if you’re having 10 people over you’ll need 5 bottles of wine. Remember, this is a feast and while Aunt Mary insists that she’ll only have one glass, chances are high that this is the one time of the year that she’ll get crazy and have two.
  • How many different wines should you get? At the bare minimum two: one white and one red. However, there is a world of wine out there and this is the time to enjoy all of your favorites. We are big fans of starting with Sparkling, even an inexpensive one is great to share while you’re watching the game, standing around the kitchen or with pre-dinner snacks. When you finally sit down to dinner, we like recommend having a couple of different styles of whites and reds open – wines that are of contrasting styles, for example a light Pinot Grigio and a rich Chardonnay or an elegant Pinot Noir and a robust Rhone.
  • What pairs with Turkey? The best answer is “What ever you like to drink!” We think Turkey is pretty easy to pair wine with because the flavors are not super strong or pronounced. However, pressed to choose wines to pair with just Turkey, we’d recommend (in no particular order): Beaujolais Nouveau, White Burgundies, Pinot Noir from Oregon, Gewürztraminer, Red Rhones (Cote du Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape, etc.)
Feel free to visit us, call, or email us for help with wine for Thanksgiving. We’re all here to help!
Cheers!
General Manager
Bottles Fine Wine, 141 Pitman Street, Providence, RI
(401) 372-2030
info@blog.bottlesfinewine.com

 

Signature Sausage Stuffing Recipe and a Thanksgiving Wine Pairing

sausage stuffing recipe & thanksgiving food & red wine pairing
Photo: David Dadekian

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. Family, friends, great food, and best of all, delicious wines. Edible Rhody magazine is featuring several classic Thanksgiving recipes, and among them is a Signature Sausage Stuffing by Kaityln Roberts at Easy Entertaining. We recommend this red Rhone blend from California, Tablas Creek ‘Patelin de Tablas.’ It’s a great wine pairing idea! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit

Paso Robles, CA
An American wine with French sensibilities. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre combine to produce a perfect pairing with your Thanksgiving Dinner, especially with Southern Style Sausage Stuffing. Both spicy with black pepper and brimming with ripe fruit, this could very well be a new favorite wine for all seasons. 90 points Wine Advocate. www.tablascreek.com

Signature Sausage Stuffing
Kaitlyn Roberts, executive chef/owner,
Easy Entertaining Inc., Providence
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound sweet sausage, casing removed
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
4 cups bread (corn, brioche or high-quality white bread), cubed into ½-inch cubes*
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 cup homemade or sodium-free turkey stock
¼ cup pure maple syrup
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 350°. Heat butter in large pan over medium heat. Add sausage to pan. Break up into small pieces and cook fully. Remove sausage from pan, leaving butter and drippings. Add onion, celery and carrots to pan and sauté until slightly softened. Add bread and parsley and toss lightly. Season to taste. Place bread into a 9- by 9-inch baking dish. Whisk together the stock with the maple syrup, drizzle over the bread and bake for 30–40 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 8–10 servings as a side dish. * Use day-old bread or spread cut cubes on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 15–20 minutes to dry.

Ferraton Cotes du Rhone red wineVieux Telegraph red wine
Are you a big fan of Red Rhone Blends? If you love Tablas Creek, then you’ll love these wines as well. They’re both very versatile Rhone wines that will be fabulous with all your Thanksgiving dishes; make an impression on your guests this year!
  • Ferraton Cotes du Rhone – A benchmark Cotes du Rhone from an extraordinary vintage with irresistible aromas and flavors of red and black fruits, red flowers and wild herbs like thyme and sage. A dry wine with lots of character and charm. A tremendous value! $12.99
  • Vieux Telegraph ‘Le Crau’ Chateauneuf du Pape – Deep dark fruit and haunting earthy flavors combine in a super smooth package that will WOW you and your dinner guests. Highly rated (92 Wine Spectator) and iconic, this wine is only now ready to drink and has a core of cherry and red currant with notes of sandalwood, mulled fig and cocoa. $89.99
VISIT



Cheers!
Visit our wine store to shop a great selection of Thanksgiving Wines.
We’re located at 141 Pitman St., Providence, Rhode Island.

Pecan Pie Recipe & Wine Pairing

Pecan Pie recipe and dessert wine pairing idea
Photo: David Dadekian
‘Tis the season for pie: apple, pumpkin, pecan, & custard galore! Pecan pie is a traditionally Southern recipe that Edible Rhody Magazine has added a Rhode Island twist to, with the addition of Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spiced Whiskey. We’ve paired this Thanksgiving recipe with one of our favorite dessert wines, Viu Manent Noble Semillon, a naturally sweet wine from Chile.

The word pie has been used in terms of food since the 1300’s and over those centuries, the plethora of pies has increased with all different types. Pecan Pie is one of those and is said that to be created by the French shortly after settling in New Orleans and being introduced to the Pecan, but no one knows for sure. Typically associated with the South, Pecan pie is usually eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Viu Manent Noble Semillon Thanksgiving Dessert Wine Pairing
With its home in Bordeaux since 1960, the Semillon grape is naturally sweet and vulnerable to Botrytis or Noble Rot. This concentrates the sugars of late harvest wines, making it a perfect candidate for sweet white wine such as the Sauternes from Bordeaux, and the Viu Manent Noble Semillon from Santiago de Chile. When vinified, it takes on flavors of stone-fruits such as apricots, peach, & mangos with back flavor of citrus, nuts & honey with a silken texture. Perfect for Pecan Pie, this wine will bring out that roasted, nutty sweetness of the pecans, the creamy caramelized custard, and the buttery flaky crust.
Pecan Pie
Pastry Team, Easy Entertaining Inc., Providence
4 tablespoons (½ stick) Rhody Fresh butter, melted and cooled
1½ cups corn syrup
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Sons of Liberty Pumpkin Spice whiskey*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
3 large fresh farm eggs, slightly beaten
1 pie shell, unbaked*
1¾ cups pecan pieces
Cream cheese frosting* (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter with corn syrup, sugar, whiskey, vanilla and salt. Add eggs and mix well. Spread pecans evenly in 10-inch unbaked pie shell (in pie dish or tart pan) and pour egg mixture over pecans. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake an additional 20–30 minutes or until set but still loose in center. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Serve slices with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Makes 1 pie or tart. * This seasonal release can be substituted with Uprising, another whiskey made by local distiller Sons of Liberty, or your favorite bourbon.
* Pie Dough
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
½ cup ice water with ½ teaspoon salt added
3 tablespoons sugar
In a large bowl, mix together flour and sugar. With a large fork or pastry cutter (or by pulsing with a food processor) cut the butter into the flour until the butter resembles small peas. Slowly add water until a dough forms, kneading and working dough as little as possible but enough to form a workable dough.
Pressing dough, form a 6-inch disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. Using a rolling pin on a floured surface, roll dough to form a 12-inch circle. Place in pie dish (or tart pan); crimp edges and proceed with recipe.
* Cream Cheese Frosting
8 tablespoons Rhody Fresh butter, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) Narragansett Creamery Angelito cream cheese
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese, scraping sides of bowl. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. (If too thick, add a scant teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.)
 
 
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Visit Bottles Fine Wine to get this wine.

Happy Halloween! Try Our Spoooky Cocktails!

This Halloween we’re showcasing our most chilling concoctions with free downloadable printables–perfect for your next self-serve bar! Feeling a little Lovecraft-inspired? Try The Lurking Fear. Taking a nice walk through walls? Phantasma may be more your speed. Completely brain drained? Mix up the Re-Animator. All with just 3 ingredients in each!

printables, lurking fear, phantasma, re animator, cocktails, halloween, free

Download Cocktail Signs PDF here!

SELF SERVE BAR SET-UP
– Have an ice bucket with tongs, a cocktail shaker, bottle opener, bar spoon, and rocks glasses.
– For mixers, have Angostura bitters, simple syrup, ginger ale, club soda, tonic water, and ginger beer.
– Include handles of a few staple liquors like Bourbon, Vodka, and Rum.
– Pre-slice a bowl of garnishes (oranges, lemons, limes)

Let your guests play bartender! Everyone has variations on how they like their drink mixed. A self serve bar with helpful cocktail recipe signs lets them make the perfect drink to their own taste.

Ready for something with more than 3 ingredients? Check out this month’s Halloween cocktails below!

The Last Word

Ingredients
3/4 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur – Luxardo
3/4 Fresh Lime Juice

Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks.

Corpse Reviver #2

Ingredients
1 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1-3 drops absinthe – Mata Hari

Directions
First, “rinse” your glass with a few drops of absinthe by swirling and coating the inside of the glass, discarding the extra. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour the rest of the ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Blood & Sand

Ingredients
1 oz blended scotch
1 oz blood orange juice or Stirring’s Blood Orange Martini
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
3/4 oz Cherry Heering brandy

Directions
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks. Garnish with an orange peel.

Find more videos and cocktail ideas on our YouTube channel and our Cocktail Recipe Page.

Bottles for the Cause at AS220’s Action Speaks Radio!

This year Bottles was a proud supporter of local arts organization, AS220 and their live panel discussion radio show, Action Speaks; Underappreciated Dates that Changed America. For over 17 years, Action Speaks Radio has provided a live venue for the public to engage in thoughtful discussions about history, culture and current events. Panels are recorded, edited and broadcast online and on radio stations across the US. We were happy to provide wine for panelists, staff and volunteers who had helped put each show together this fall season.

Check out more photos below! And be sure to come to their final show of the season 
The panelists reflect on the show’s topic, Las Vegas!

Audience members share their thoughts and questions with panelists.

The show on Pentecostalism, brought in an entire congregation from Truth Tabernacle Church in South Providence, including an organist, a lap steel guitarist, and this woman belting out gospel hits!

A salon-style thank you dinner of locally grown food and wonderfully paired wines.

Lucie Searle, AS220 Capitol Campaign Manager, hosts the thank-you dinner

7th Annual WaterFire Providence Fundraiser

Bottles was very excited to partner with WaterFire for their annual fundraiser at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse this year! Year-round, WaterFire Providence transforms the rivers of downtown Providence into eighty sparkling bonfires, inspiring the community and creatively transforming the city for all to enjoy. The event took place at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Downtown Providence to great success with silent and live auctions, wonderful food and of course, unique wine pairings!

Check out the photos from the event below!

waterfire, bottles for the cause, providence, wine, community
waterfire, bottles for the cause, providence, wine, community, cocktails
And congrats to the lucky recipient of our personal wine tasting party for 20 guests!
We wish WaterFire Providence the best of luck with their new building and in the years to come!

The Last Word – A Chartreuse Cocktail Recipe for Halloween

Last Word - Chartreuse Cocktail Drink Recipe

Want to try a classic Prohibition era cocktail? We recommend The Last Word, a gin and green Chartreuse drink that has recently experienced a renewal in popularity. Serve it at your Halloween party for a pleasingly complex and herbal libation that guests will remember and love.

The Last Word

INGREDIENTS
3/4 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur – Luxardo
3/4 oz Fresh Lime Juice

DIRECTIONS
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks.

The Last Word Cocktail Recipe

Looking for these ingredients? Stop by our liquor store in Providence, RI to browse our selection of classic cocktail ingredients, glassware, and barware. www.bottlesfinewine.com

Try some other spooooky cocktails for Halloween:

Corpse Reviver #2

A medley of gin, citrus, Lillet, and an enticing aroma of absinthe. Fantastic to share for adult Halloween parties.

Blood and Sand

A devilish cocktail recipe for Halloween. One of the few cocktails that use scotch.

Brussels Sprouts Are In Season! And We’re Eating Them With Bacon!

It’s fall and we’re excited to pair our wines with warm, seasonal comfort food recipes from Edible Rhody Magazine. This month we’re bringing you a fantastic Brussels sprouts & bacon recipe paired with Domaine D’Aupilhac ‘Lou Maset’ Languedoc–the perfect crisp, autumn appetizer to enjoy with family and friends!
 
Available all year round, the peak season for Brussels Sprouts is from September to mid-February. The smaller the head, the sweeter the taste, so look for those that are about 1–1½ inches in diameter. Even though they last for a few weeks the flavor starts to become unpleasantly strong after three or four days so be sure to cook them right away–the fresher the better! Brussels sprouts have great health benefits too. Some good ways of cooking them are by steaming, roasting, or stir frying, but do not overcook or you will lose the nutrients. To ensure an even cook, slice an x into the bottom of the stem when cooking them whole.

Check out Farm Fresh for local farms to get your brussels sprouts this season.
 
ediblerhody, recipe, edible rhody, seasonal, rhode island, brussels sprouts, wine, cotes du rhone, bottles fine wine

Languedoc is the largest wine-growing region in the world, extending from the Rhone Delta down to the foot of the Pyrenees.  It is also the most productive in terms of wine in France & the oldest. Because of its large geographical area & variations in terroir, Languedoc can produce a wide array of wine styles, with many of the reds being blends that are full-bodied, fruit driven & slightly spicy. These wines go perfect with the bitter earthiness of Brussels sprouts & specifically Domaine D’Aupilhac ‘Lou Maset’; mouth-wateringly fresh with a great balance of ripe fruit & silky tannins, a good length with a spicy finish.

Brussel Sprouts & Bacon
Ingredients:

  • 1 pound (4 cups) Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed & halved
  • ½ pound farmer’s bacon, chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:

1. Fill a sauce pot with water and bring to a boil 

2. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside 

3. Place Brussels sprouts in boiling water for 45 seconds, or until they turn bright green 

4. Drain and place immediately in ice bath 

5. In a separate pan, render bacon over low heat until pieces are crispy 

6. Remove bacon from pan and add drained, cool Brussels sprouts to the bacon drippings 

7. Sear the Brussels sprouts over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, until edges are brown
8. Return bacon to pan, sprinkle with pepper, toss and serve

Owner & founder of Easy Entertaining Inc. in Providence, Kaitlyn Roberts actually studied pre-law before discovering her love for cooking while studying abroad in Rome. After she graduated she went to Apicius, a culinary school in Florence, for a year. Upon her return in 2006 she started working as a personal chef and soon, Easy Entertaining Inc. was born. Looking to preserve the local flavor of Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts she focuses on seasonal, local and gourmet cuisine. In 2012 Easy Entertaining opened a café in Rising Sun Mills for breakfast, lunch, classes, private events & more.

 

Check out www.easyentertainingri.com for more info
 
 
 
edible rhody, ediblerhody, brussels sprouts, seasonal ri
 

Halloween Cocktails? Try the Corpse Reviver #2

Halloween Cocktail Idea - Corpse Reviver #2

What goes great with an adult Halloween party? A fantastic cocktail. One of our favorites here at Bottles is the Corpse Reviver #2, a medley of gin, citrus, Lillet, and enticing aroma of absinthe. Though ‘corpse reviver’ drinks are originally intended as ‘hair of the dog’ cures, this gin-based cocktail is enjoyable for brunch or any fine evening. You’ll need equal parts gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, and lemon juice, and just a dash of absinthe for a wonderful flavor and aroma.

Corpse Reviver #2

INGREDIENTS
1 oz gin – Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1-3 drops absinthe – Mata Hari

DIRECTIONS
First, “rinse” your glass with a few drops of absinthe by swirling and coating the inside of the glass, discarding the extra. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour the rest of the ingredients over ice. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Corpse Reviver 2 Cocktail Recipe

Looking for these ingredients? Stop by our liquor store in Providence, RI to browse our selection of classic cocktail ingredients, glassware, and barware. www.bottlesfinewine.com

The Last Word

A Chartreuse and gin concoction with Maraschino Liquer and fresh lime juice. A Prohibition era classic.

Blood and Sand

A devilish cocktail recipe for Halloween. One of the few cocktails that use scotch.