The secret's in the spice, says German mulled wine producer as visitors flock to Christmas markets

Record ID: 76628

  • Title: The secret's in the spice, says German mulled wine producer as visitors flock to Christmas markets
  • Date: 10th December 2016
  • Summary: NUREMBERG, GERMANY (DECEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EMPTY BOTTLES BEING UNLOADED AND CLEANED AT MULLED WINE FACTORY VARIOUS OF BOTTLES BEING LOADED ONTO MACHINE BOTTLES BEING FILLED WITH MULLED WINE MACHINE PUTTING TOPS ON BOTTLES VARIOUS OF BOTTLES ON CONVEYOR BELT PRODUCT MANAGER EVELYN GERSTNER CHECKING CRATES OF MULLED WINE LABEL ON CRATE GERSTNER WALKING PAST CRATES OF MULLED WINE (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRODUCT MANAGER, EVELYN GERSTNER, SAYING: "A good mulled wine has to start with high-quality ingredients: a good red wine and premium spices are a must. Then where lots of producers go wrong is that they heat the wine to too high a temperature. It should be heated to a maximum of 60 degrees so that the spices and aromas are still there and don't boil away with the alcohol." LABEL ON MULLED WINE BOTTLE (SOUNDBITE) (German) PRODUCT MANAGER, EVELYN GERSTNER, SAYING: "The special thing about our Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt mulled wine is that it has been around since 1965, when it was developed by Friedrich Gerster together with a well-known Nuremberg gingerbread maker and it contains all the spices from the original Nuremberg gingerbread. We have more than 25 spices in our mulled wine which are mixed with the base wine in a special maceration process lasting 24 hours, so that the aromas can get into the wine to give it that special premium taste. VARIOUS OF MULLED WINE BEING TASTED IN LABORATORY VARIOUS OF MULLED WINE BEING PACKAGED IN CRATES NUREMBERG'S "CHRISTKINDLESMARKT" CHRISTMAS MARKET MULLED WINE STALL PEOPLE BUYING MUGS OF MULLED WINE WOMAN DRINKING MULLED WINE PEOPLE WORKING AT STALL BOTTLES OF MULLED WINE MAN ORDERING VARIOUS OF MULLED WINE BEING POURED INTO MUG WOMEN DRINKING MULLED WINE (SOUNDBITE) (German) VISITOR, CHRISTINA STEINDL, SAYING: "We came especially from Austria to the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt because it's so well-known and it's the oldest one. And it [mulled wine] tastes especially good!" (SOUNDBITE) (German) VISITOR, HELMUT WEINBERGER, SAYING: "It just tastes really original, it tastes great. You can manage a few of these; you can definitely drink more than one." (SOUNDBITE) (German) VISITOR, HELGA GRZEBA, SAYING: "I don't normally drink at all, but at the Christkindlesmarkt I want a mulled wine. And then I always order a blueberry mulled wine, it just tastes better to me, better than the normal one." MULLED WINE BOX VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BUYING MULLED WINE MARKET
  • Embargoed: 25th December 2016 13:40
  • Keywords: Christmas mulled wine Gluehwein market Nuremberg
  • Location: NUREMBERG, GERMANY
  • City: NUREMBERG, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015CATN4P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: With Christmas season in full swing, festive markets across Germany have been welcoming people eager to buy stocking-fillers and enjoy a mug or three of mulled wine.
    Known in German as "gluehwein", (pronounced GLOO-VINE), mulled wine is a quintessential part of a traditional Christmas market in Germany.
    One of the country's oldest and most well-known is Nuremberg's "Christkindlesmarkt" in the city centre. The original "Nuremberg mulled wine" sold there must be manufactured in the city.
    Local producer Gerstacker makes several million litres of wine every year using a decades-old recipe. It supplies the Nuremberg Christmas market and also exports bottles of its wine abroad, including to the United States and Canada.
    The firm was set up in 1945 when Friedrich Gerstacker and his wife opened a brandy factory, before moving into mulled wine twenty years later.
    "The special thing about our Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt mulled wine is that it has been around since 1965, when it was developed by Friedrich Gerster together with a well-known Nuremberg gingerbread maker, and it contains all the spices from the original Nuremberg gingerbread," product manager Evelyn Gerstner said.
    The spices include cloves, cardamom, mace, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, star anise and vanilla, combined with other flavours like citrus peel. The mixture seemed to go down well with punters looking to warm up at the Christmas market.
    "We came especially from Austria to the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt because it's so well-known and it's the oldest one. And the mulled wine tastes especially good!", visitor Christina Steindl said.
    "It just tastes really original, it tastes great. You can manage a few of these, you can definitely drink more than one," fellow punter Helmut Weinberger said.
    Nuremberg's Christmas market on the city's main square dates back several centuries. It is held annually from the Friday preceding the first advent Sunday until December 24 and attracts upwards of a million visitors every year.
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