Even though non-Europeans miss out on lots of stuff, not to mention everything that non-Russians miss out on, I think the most serious of these must be not drinking глинтвейн [“glintwein”], known in English speaking countries as mulled wine. Since the Russian name for this hot beverage based on semi-sweet red wine obviously comes from the German word Glühwein [“glowing wine”] most Russians think this to be a German drink. I don’t doubt the fact that Germans drink glintwein, but I do know that we Scandinavians drink it way more than they do. In Sweden it goes by the name of glögg and is only allowed to be served in Swedish society during the month of December, and then only up until the last day of Christmas, the 26^th. In Russia the rules are not so strict. As soon as the first snow falls, which occurs in some places here already in mid-October, it is alright for anyone who would like to do so to buy a bag/bottle of cheap semi-sweet red wine, pour it into a pot on the stove, mix the spices and drink away. Glintwein in still served in Russian restaurants as late as in early April, if there’s still snow left on the ground that is. This gives the lovers of mulled wine, including myself, one more reason to love Russia – here the season is more than six months long. And at the moment we’re at the height of this glorious glintwein season, right in the middle of its most intensive period, which is late December – early January. Unlike Scandinavians and Germans, who are known to drink glintwein like it’s nobody’s business, Russians have their own way of approaching and approving it. They consider this drink to be good for your health and an excellent way of keeping any kind of disease away. And what better way to warm up when it’s minus thirty outside than to drink a glass of sweet, spicy and hot wine? Bring a thermos of glintwein with you when you go skiing or ice-skating and you’ll find it to be an outstanding method of kicking back afterwards.

You haven’t been to Russia in the winter if you haven’t tried glintwein. You can order it as you would any other drink at most cafés and restaurants, even though it is not always written on the menu. If you can’t find it then all you need to do is ask: «А у вас есть глинтвейн? Горячий? Крепкий? Ну, так что же, дайте мне, пожалуйста, стаканчик глинтвейна…» You could also, like the Scandinavians do, buy a bottle of ready made glintwein at larger grocery stores. However, those bottles are still kind of a rarity in many Russians cities, especially smaller ones. Not because Russians drink less glintwein than Scandinavians. No, that’s not it. Russians prefer to make their one. If you’ll take a closer look at the section of spices in any given grocery store, be it very small even, you’ll notice small packages of ready made mixes of spices especially made for glintwein. Usually they’re called just that – «Смесь пряностей для глинтвейна». A package generally costs less than 10 roubles and can cover up to two litres of glintwein. After a while, though, after enough long winters in Russia, you’ll come up with a way of making glintwein all on your own, no ready made bottles or packages needed. If you don’t come up with it yourself, then you’ll sooner or later most likely run into a Russian who’ll teach you their own ‘secret’ recipe. 

Or, like in my case, steal it from a Finnish couple in Siberia. Two years ago we studied together at university in Omsk and one freezing winter evening they showed me how mulled wine is done back in their Helsinki suburb. Since then I’ve pleased many different nationalities with it, including Russians of course, and made it so many times that I think I could probably make it in my sleep. Also a kind of russification, when you think about it 😉 

My Finnish-Swedish Глинтвейн Recipe [made in Russia!]:

2 литра полусладкого вина [2 litres of semi-sweet red wine]

1 ложка корицы [1 spoon of cinnamon]

½ ложка кардамона [half a spoon of  “Cardamom” cardamom]

1 ложка молотой гвоздики [1 spoon of ground cloves]

1 ложка молотого имбиря [1 spoon of ground ginger]

Если хотите послаще можно добавить: [If you want it a little bit sweeter, add:]

1 литер апельсинного сока [1 liter orange juice]

или [or]

несколько ложек сахара [a couple of spoons of sugar]

Mix everything together in a big pot on the stove and heat the beverage until about 60-70C [140-160F]. Don’t let it boil – it will make the alcohol disappear [and nobody would want that to happen]. The best way to make sure you won’t cook off the alcohol is to heat it until the room you’re cooking in starts to smell spicy. That’s when you know it is time to enjoy.