My husband Sam looked skeptically at my Glühwein simmering on the stove, not a lemon in sight.

“This looks expensive,” he said, picking up the empty wine bottle.

“Barely ten francs!”

A long sigh.

For Sam, who is used to making Glühwein in stockpots over portable burners, ladling out to dozens of glassy-eyed, rosy faces, ten francs is obscene.

Sorry Sam.

This isn’t your typical Glühwein, it’s not sickly Christmas market Glühwein, and it’s not well-meaning holiday party, let’s just juice the rest of this bag of half-mouldy clementines, Glühwein.

This is a generously spiced, serve at an intimate dinner party kind of Glühwein. A good book in one hand, a mug of this in the other. It’s my replacement for eggnog in all kinds of Christmas events from Christmas card writing to decorating the tree. It’s how to be a festive wine mom.

The citrus is in the garnish only, the spices are warm and festive, and it’s just a little bit sweet.

Cheers, Sam.

3 peppercorns

3 cloves

3 cardamom pods

2 cinnamon sticks

2 slices of ginger

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

grating of nutmeg

2 tbsp sugar

1 bottle red wine

orange slices to garnish

Add the spices, sugar, and wine to a large pot,

Heat over medium, making sure it doesn’t boil.

If desired, garnish with orange slices.

• Pick a wine that you wouldn’t mind drinking—not too expensive, mind you, because you are spicing and sweetening it, but not the cheapest.

• I like to use a peppery Swiss Pinot Noir. Other fruity reds would also do the trick, like Dôle.

• You can use most types of sweetener here. I used raw sugar (Rohrzucker / sucre de canne brut / zucchero di canna greggio), though brown sugar, or even honey, would also be nice, just taste as you go.