Mulled wine has kept people warm for 2,000 years.

Roman soldiers drank it to survive northern winters. Medieval nobles showed off with it and you can give it to your wife to save money next time she wants to turn up the thermostat during a bitcoin dip.

Here's why it stuck around. 👇

It stuck around because it works. The Romans mixed red wine with honey, pepper, dates, and saffron until it was sweet, spiced, and strong enough to get soldiers through frozen camps.

When legions marched north into Gaul and Germania, mulled wine came with them. Spices preserved it, honey made the soldier's cheap wine drinkable, and the warmth in their belly kept their morale high.

Long before the Spice Girls Made Spices Great Again, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg were the ultimate flex in the Middle Ages.

Spices cost more per pound than gold so mulled wine became a status symbol.

Next time your dad brings up the tulip bubble, ask him why the Dutch and Portuguese went to war over nutmeg islands and how the price has collapsed since.

The simplest version:

1 bottle of full-bodied red wine

Orange peel + juice

Cinnamon stick

3–4 cloves

Honey to taste

Brandy (optional, but recommended)

Heat it slow. Don't boil. When your kitchen smells like a Christmas market, it's done.

Mulled wine isn't so much about the wine, but it is an excuse to slow down and dive into some festive fall flavors.

Make a pot tonight. The Romans would approve...and so would your wife.