Glögg (word of the day)

 Don't judge me, but I have been watching a Christmas romcom series on Netflix, called Home for Christmas. Not exactly groundbreaking, but while not original it can be genuinely cute at times and reasonably clever. But I watch it because it's set in Norway and it looks perfect for the holidays. Oh, and it's the same team that made A Storm for Christmas, which I really loved. Anyway, I discovered thanks to the third season a sort of mulled wine (or spirit) called glögg. Originally from Sweden, or so the Wikipedia entry says. I love to discover new Yuletide traditions and I hope to try glögg one day. Anyone ever drank it? Leave me a comment. And glögg is the word of the day.

Spiced Mulled Wine

I went to a local Christmas fayre recently. Our little town has one every year, I try to go there if I can. It's pretty much the same every year mostly a night of shopping for Christmas, but it is also the opportunity to eat and drink. And, often, to drink the first cup of mulled wine. There were stalls selling it everywhere. I took a glass from The Spiced Wine Company. Not sure why this one or another, as it was a quid more expensive, but I enjoyed the drink anyway. All warm and spicy and seasonal.

First Mulled Wine

One of the things I did to put myself in the Christmas spirit this weekend was have my very first mulled wine of the season. Because 'tis the season to be drinking. Nothing too fancy, it looked pretty bare in fact, no orange, no elegant cup or mug. But it tasted good. There was a local Christmas fayre and a stand that was selling it, I had to have one, which I shared with my wife. Mulled wine is one of the few alcohols she genuinely loves. So yeah, it warmed us up while Wolfie was queing to see Santa.

More Mulled Wine

We went to a local petting zoo today, just to get out of the house and because, well, they make great Christmas activities. There was a stand selling food and hot drinks. The usual hot drinks: coffee, tea and... mulled wine. I thought I had to take a cup of mulled wine, since I hadn't had any since early December and because it really smelled good. The lady at the stand told us that she gets home smelling of the thing. I am not sure if she was complaining or not, but I told her: "Don't worry, it smells way nicer than lavender perfume." I think this deserves to be a new great unknown line. Sadly, the wine itself didn't live up to my expectations: it looked and tasted like cough syrup. It was borderline vile.

First Mulled Wine

 We went to a Christmas fair yesterday, at Wolfie's school. It was rather bare, far less animated than the previous two years. But it was still enjoyable. And I was lucky enough to buy myself a cup of cup of mulled wine. My first since a long time, maybe 2021. Last year I did not drink any because I got sick during the holidays. Most of Christmastimelast year was a dry one for me. There's also another reason why I say I was lucky: in the previous years I always went to the stand selling it once they'd ran out. On a crisp, cold day, as it was yesterday, there is nothing better than mulled wine to warm you up. Even my wife loves mulled wine, and she neither likes alcohol nor red wine.

A bit of mulled wine

Today, I went downtown to make the very last purchases in preparation of Christastime: food, presents and, well, drinks. I did this very carefully of course, always wearing a mask and going only in businesses that were not crowded. I stopped in a local wine shop held by a Frenchman to buy two bottles, one of red, one of white. He also offered me a free cup of mulled wine. The very first I've had since last Christmas. I was not planning on drinking, but I cannot refuse a freebie, especially not mulled wine. It warmed me up good and made the long walk home more pleasant. Maybe it was the fact that I was tired, but I thought it was one of the best mulled wines I had. The shopkeeper gave the recipe quickly, it was the usual stuff, cinnamon, cloves, a bit of orange and this and that. Nothing out of the ordinary, except maybe the rose petals.

Célébrer au vin chaud

Noël achève, dans un certain sens le Temps des Fêtes est déjà terminé, alors je ne m'épivarderai pas là dessus. Je voudrai cependant parler d'une redécouverte cette année: le vin chaud. Nous avions quelques bouteilles données par des amis, alors nous avons décidé d'en boire cette année. On n'a qu'à le réchauffer, lui ajouter une tranche d'orange ou deux et le boire. Ma femme préfère ça à pas mal tous les autres alcools. Même si c'est beaucoup associé à Noël et aux fêtes, je crois que ça pourrait se boire de novembre à mars, au moins. Ça pourrait être notre breuvage de l'hiver. Dans tous les cas, je crois qu'au nouvel an qui s'en vient, ce sera l'alcool que ma femme va prendre pour célébrer l'arrivée de 2021.

Premier vin chaud

Samedi dernier, nous sommes allés à une fête de Noël pour enfants organisée par la garderie de notre petit loup. C'est encore un peu trop tôt pour ça, je trouve, mais bon, j'imagine que tout le monde trouve le temps gris autrement. En ce qui me concerne, je n'ai pas encore tout à fait l'esprit festif. On y servait de quoi manger et boire, dont du vin chaud. Les Anglais aiment beaucoup le vin chaud durant les Fêtes. Comme c'était à peu près le seul alcool qu'on y servait, j'en ai pris un verre. Il était franchement pas mauvais pour quelquechose de servi dans un verre en carton. Et ça réchauffe l'estomac sinon le coeur quand il fait frais et humide et gris dehors. Enfin bref, ce fut mon premier verre de vin chaud cette année.

Time for mulled wine

Something struck me recently: I haven't had mulled wine yet. This glass was drunk by my wife about a year ago in a local pub. And I am in the mood for it. Mulled wine is of course a drink associated with Christmas and I try to have one glass of it then, but we can have it before Christmastime starts officially. I usually find it all right to drink it as early as November. When it is cold outside, like now, I find it a very comforting drink. Not my drink of choice, but something I like to have to put myself in a seasonal mood. We also have a few bottles ready to use, but my wife and I cannot drink a whole bottle alone, we need guests. So ordering mulled wine in a pub is easier. Plus, the atmosphere of a pub adds to the enjoyment.

Premier verre de vin chaud

D'habitude, je prends un verre de vin chaud dès que c'est disponible dans les pubs, restaurants et les évènements publics divers qui se produisent avant Noël et parfois dès le début de novembre. Le vin chaud est disponible tôt en Angleterre. Cette année, mon statut de nouveau papa fait que je ne sors plus guère, alors je n'ai pas eu de vin chaud avant hier. Ironiquement, c'était lors d'un party de Noël pour poupons. Ils en donnaient aux parents. C'était dans un verre en plastique et c'était plutôt du vin tiède. Mais c'était gratuit et on ne boudera pas son plaisir, ça faisait du bien d'en boire, même en quantité modeste. Vous voyez le verre sur la photo ici, avec en prime un peu de petit loup dans son habit rayé.

Time for mulled wine and mince pies

Christmas is coming, which means, apart from the geese that are getting fat (or not anymore, who eats goose nowadays for Christmas?) is that we can enjoy seasonal food and drinks. I had this mulled wine and these two mince pies after a visit to one of the earliest Christmas markets, in a local hotel, about two weeks ago. Two very English delicacies. I have to confess, I am not the biggest fan of mince pies, but I do enjoy them wit mulled wine. I would enjoy mulled wine even more with the home made donuts we make in my family (now THAT'S truly a decadent match), but I have to compromise and enjoy local seasonal desserts. The mulled wine was nice, in any case, and the mince pies as good as they can be.

Du vin chaud pour Noël?

 Depuis que j'ai redécouvert le vin chaud cette année, je me demande si je ne devrais pas en faire moi même pour Noël cette année. Bon, c'est pas comme si on ne prenait pas beaucoup d'alcool et si on n'en avait pas déjà en masse, mais c'est une petite tradition de Noël qui est fort agréable, surtout pratiquée dans les pays froids.On en a déjà fait une fois durant les Fêtes, c'était je crois mon idée, mais je ne sais pas pourquoi, on ne l'a jamais répété. Peut-être que le résultat n'a pas été très convaincant. Il faudrait tout de même réessayer.

Time for mulled wine

I took this picture last Thursday, in the local restaurant above the main street. It is a picture of the mulled wine I had. I truly discovered mulled wine last year, when I had this particular one, which was completely out of this world. This one was decent, but not outstanding. In the weeks coming to Christmas, I will make it one of my new poisons. Not to the point of replacing beer, especially not since wintery ales can be delicious, but there is just something about warming up with mulled wine on a cold winter night. If you have any recipe to suggest, please tell me.

Christmas lights

Christmas is more than a month away, yet I think it is time to start putting ourselves in a Christmas mood. And I am not the only one. It was yesterday that the good town's people of the little town where we live. I could not see the huge crowd that gathered then, because I was rushing home. I took this picture much, much later, in a local restaurant on the first floor of the large building facing the main street. My wife was playing flute in a local orchestra. It was the first Christmas concert of the Season, which has not even truly started yet. I enjoyed it drinking mulled wine.

So it was a lovely evening. It may have been a cool (sadly not cold or snowy) grey night, the streets were virtually deserted, but even though you see little of the lights, they do bring a festive atmosphere. The picture is far from great, but it is nevertheless a lovely view.

On Bonfire Night

I am back from Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, which I care little about usually. I spend it at home more often than none, but my wife convinced me to go (mainly because it was held at the school where she works). And I was surprised to enjoy myself quite a lot. Fireworks were late and it was short, but maybe when it happens in midweek, it is the way to do it. Anyway, what I love most about Bonfire Night is not the fireworks, but actually the bonfire. I LOVE bonfires, the smell of fire in the November night. Simply priceless. It makes me enjoy November, which is not small feast. There was one disappointment: I usually have Roasted Nuts on Guy Fawkes Night, which is one of my favourite beers down this side of the world. Sadly, they had already sold out when I went. So instead, I settled for mulled wine. My first mulled wine of the year. So not all was lost.

Mulled wine

Tonight, there was a Christmas fayre in town, one of those outdoors markets that sell lots of charity things and plenty of food and drink, including mulled wine. An elderly man at one of the stands offered me a cup, I politely refused explaining: "I had plenty yesterday and woke up with a nasty headache." He replied, undeterred: "You may have had a worse wake up without it." This made me laugh, and I decided to make it our new great unknown line, the first of December and of Advent. A perfect one for this Christmas-related post and to its seasonal topic.

So yes, mulled wine. Yesterday, I drank this glass of mulled wine, in the company of Odin's owners. It was as an apéritif before one of the best restaurant dinners (suppers really as it was late) I had in ages, but I digress. I will blog about the food another time. Now, the wine. It was absolutely to die for, the best mulled wine I had in life. It was just warm enough, just spicy enough, with a nice tang to it, powerful in a soft way. Perfect for the cold winter night we had yesterday. I came to mulled as of late, one year in my twenties my parents and I made some to make Christmas a bit British, I think we used the recipe on Wikipedia. It had been good, but not like that one. I do drink it from time to time, but not very often as I am more of a beer drinker and I have had good ones, enjoyable ones, but it didn't strike me until last night on how good it can be. So I think it will become a Christmas tradition for me. My liver may suffer for it, but so what?