It is beginning to look a lot like...Glögi

Hot mulled wine goes by many names and has just as many recipes. With the temperature dropping to freezing temperatures here in Budapest and snow in the forecast, we tucked into some yummy forralt bor (Hungarian's call it "boiled wine").

We bought some California red wine for 200 Forint at Tesco (translated: $1 bottle of wine from Walmart). How they ever can ship California wine over here at $1 a bottle is beyond us. Needless to say the wine was less then desirable. Perfect for Glögi--which is what the Finns and Estonians call this drink.

We used this recipe but you can put anything you'd like into it. We used about 1/2 the sugar it calls for. You can always add more toward the end. In spite of being called boiled wine, be careful not to boil it after adding the wine and fruit juices. Do as Swedes do and add nuts and dried fruit--always tasty. We'll add some vanilla bean next time. Vodka can always be added to keep you extra warm on these chilly winter nights.

Enjoy!