To set the scene, it’s New Hampshire. It’s December. We got about a foot of snow in the past week and we’re expected to get a bit more soon. It’s freaking cold.  So I need a hot drink, preferably with alcohol. I’ve been seeing posts about chai hot chocolate and hot chocolate red wine, but those sounded a bit heavy. So I decided to try an orange chai red wine, sort of like a mix between sangria and mulled wine, but with a chai spice flavor profile. I didn’t know that my idea was actually pretty close to a German spiced wine called Glühwein until I started poking around. Mine doesn’t have brandy or other spirits in it, and I have a few more spices in mine. It’s a pretty thing on a cold afternoon, and great for a wintry get-together. For those of you who are vegan, you’ll need to investigate your wine carefully, and for those of you who are more sensitive than I am corn-allergy wise, you’ll need to be careful in your wine choices. I do well about 75% of the time as long as I avoid American wines, but your mileage may vary.

Orange Chai Spiced Wine

The complete recipe is in the card below, but this is a pretty easy one. Juice and zest some oranges (I used a julienne peeler for removing the zest easily with a strainer), slice part of an orange, and throw the zest, juice, orange slices, spices, sugar and wine in a crock pot on low for a hour. After cooking, I strained out the spices and used the orange slices for garnishing the glasses. I have a bit left over, and I may braise some pork in it because it was totally delicious.