Vin brulé

The story

Vin brulé, the Italian version of mulled wine, is so closely related to Austrian and German Glühwein in Italy's northern Alpine regions, Trentino-Alto Adige above all, that the border of taste nearly follows the old border of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, to which that region belonged until 1919. The name comes straight from the French "vin brûlé," "burnt wine," and the basic ingredients (red wine, cinnamon, cloves, orange and lemon peel, sometimes a bay leaf) vary from valley to valley. At Christmas markets across northern Italy, vin brulé is served in small ceramic or glass mugs, often alongside chestnuts roasted over an open fire, whose smoke and scent mark the Italian December as much as the drink itself. Unlike the more formal family meal, vin brulé belongs to the street and the market square. It is drunk standing up, with gloves on, while browsing the stalls, so for many immigrants that atmosphere of gathering outdoors is what they miss most when they try to carry the recipe into a warmer American December.