Glühsecco with the Thermomix® is our compromise between mulled wine and sparkling wine. We heat the spiced wine to 80°C in the Thermomix®, leave it to cool completely, and only then pour over the ice-cold Prosecco. That order is not a suggestion but a requirement: warm wine poured into Prosecco gives you a flat drink with no bubbles.
The recipe works in all Thermomix® models (TM31, TM5, TM6). The 15 minutes at 80°C draw the flavours out of the cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Reverse direction keeps the orange slices from falling apart. After cooling, the mixture is strained through a sieve so no pieces of spice end up in the glass.
Glühsecco with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 7 ✓
- 1 orange unwaxed
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 cloves
- 2 allspice berries
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 300 g wine red or white
- 750 g Prosecco red or white
Instructions 0 / 2
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1
Warm the ingredients.
Wash the orange and slice it. Set four nice slices aside for decoration. Place the orange slices and all remaining ingredients except the Prosecco in the mixing bowl, heat for 15 min / 80°C / reverse direction / gentle stir setting and then leave to cool completely.
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2
Serve.
Remove the orange slices and cinnamon stick, strain through a sieve into 4 highball glasses, top up with ice-cold Prosecco and serve decorated with orange slices.
Tip: You can use red or white wine according to your taste, but the Prosecco should match in colour.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Getting the spices and honey right
We use 2 cloves, 2 allspice berries and 1 cinnamon stick for 300 g of wine. That sounds modest, but it is enough for 4 servings. More spices make the Glühsecco bitter, because the cloves intensify strongly during heating. The honey (2 tbsp) provides the sweetness that the dry Prosecco balances out later. You can use agave syrup or maple syrup instead of honey, but the flavour will be flatter.
Why unwaxed oranges are essential
The orange slices go into the mixing bowl with their peel on. Treated oranges have wax coatings and pesticide residues on the skin. These dissolve at 80°C and end up in the drink. Unwaxed organic oranges cost more, but for this recipe there is no way around it. Set four slices aside for decoration before the rest goes into the mixing bowl.
Red or white, wine or Prosecco
The recipe works with red wine plus rosé Prosecco, or with white wine plus white Prosecco. The key point: wine and Prosecco should match in colour. Red wine with white Prosecco produces an unappetising brown. The Prosecco must be dry, not Asti Spumante or a medium-dry sparkling wine. Otherwise the Glühsecco becomes too sweet, as the honey already contributes 2 tbsp of sugar.
Do not skip the cooling and straining
After 15 minutes at 80°C the spiced wine must cool completely. That takes at least 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge. If you pour Prosecco over wine that is still warm, you lose all the bubbles immediately. The drink goes flat and tastes like a failed punch. When straining, remove the orange slices and cinnamon stick but do not press them. Pressing releases bitterness from the white pith of the orange.
Serving in highball glasses
We divide the spiced wine between 4 highball glasses and top up with ice-cold Prosecco. Do not chill the glasses beforehand, or they will fog up immediately. Each serving gets an orange slice as decoration. Serve straight away, as the bubbles fade after about 15 minutes.
Getting ahead for guests
You can make the spiced wine up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge. Pour it into a clean bottle or an airtight container. The honey settles at the bottom, so give it a good shake before serving. Only add the Prosecco just before serving. If you want to freeze the Glühsecco base: pour the spiced wine into ice cube trays, freeze, and top up with Prosecco when needed.
Alcohol-free version works too
Instead of wine, use red or white grape juice. Instead of Prosecco, use ice-cold sparkling mineral water or non-alcoholic sparkling wine. The spices and honey stay the same. The result is less complex than the alcoholic version, but the basic structure works well. For children, leave out the honey and sweeten with sugar.
More warm winter drinks: Mulled Wine with the Thermomix®, Apple Punch with the Thermomix®, Schneepunsch with the Thermomix®.
How other recipes do it differently
Other recipes grind the cloves, cardamom, star anise and allspice for 45 seconds at speed 10 first, then use a tea filter so nothing ends up in the glass. We skip that step because 2 cloves, 2 allspice berries and 1 cinnamon stick go into the mixing bowl whole and the sieve at the end is sufficient. Some recipes cook the base as a tea with vanilla and sweeten with maple syrup, which pushes the temperature above 80°C and flattens the Prosecco later. Our 80°C limit combined with complete cooling protects the bubbles, which matters just as much with apple pieces or berries as it does with classic orange-garnished glasses.
