<\/p>\n
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 \u0433\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0439\u043d<\/b> [\u201cglintwein\u201d], known in English speaking countries as mulled wine<\/b>. Since the Russian name for this hot beverage based on semi-sweet red wine obviously comes from the German word Gl\u00fchwein [\u201cglowing wine\u201d] most Russians think this to be a German drink. I don\u2019t 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 gl\u00f6gg<\/b> 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 26th<\/sup>. 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\u2019s still snow left on the ground that is. This gives the lovers of mulled wine, including myself, one more reason to love Russia \u2013 here the season is more than six months long. And at the moment we\u2019re at the height of this glorious glintwein season, right in the middle of its most intensive period, which is late December \u2013 early January. Unlike Scandinavians and Germans, who are known to drink glintwein like it\u2019s nobody\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019ll find it to be an outstanding method of kicking back afterwards.<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n You haven\u2019t been to Russia in the winter if you haven\u2019t tried glintwein. You can order it as you would any other drink at most caf\u00e9s and restaurants, even though it is not always written on the menu. If you can\u2019t find it then all you need to do is ask: \u00ab\u0410 \u0443 \u0432\u0430\u0441 \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0433\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0439\u043d? \u0413\u043e\u0440\u044f\u0447\u0438\u0439? \u041a\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043a\u0438\u0439? \u041d\u0443, \u0442\u0430\u043a \u0447\u0442\u043e \u0436\u0435, \u0434\u0430\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u043c\u043d\u0435, \u043f\u043e\u0436\u0430\u043b\u0443\u0439\u0441\u0442\u0430, \u0441\u0442\u0430\u043a\u0430\u043d\u0447\u0438\u043a \u0433\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0439\u043d\u0430\u2026\u00bb <\/b>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\u2019s not it. Russians prefer to make their one. If you\u2019ll take a closer look at the section of spices in any given grocery store, be it very small even, you\u2019ll notice small packages of ready made mixes of spices especially made for glintwein. Usually they\u2019re called just that \u2013 \u00ab\u0421\u043c\u0435\u0441\u044c \u043f\u0440\u044f\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0439 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0433\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0439\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/b>. 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\u2019ll come up with a way of making glintwein all on your own, no ready made bottles or packages needed. If you don\u2019t come up with it yourself, then you\u2019ll sooner or later most likely run into a Russian who\u2019ll teach you their own \u2018secret\u2019 recipe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019ve 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 \ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \n My Finnish-Swedish \u0413\u043b\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0439\u043d Recipe [made in Russia!]:<\/b><\/p>\n \n 2 \u043b\u0438<\/b>\u0442\u0440\u0430 \u043f\u043e\u043b\u0443\u0441\u043b\u0430<\/b>\u0434\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0430<\/b> [2 litres of semi-sweet red wine]<\/p>\n 1 \u043b\u043e<\/b>\u0436\u043a\u0430 \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0438<\/b>\u0446\u044b [1 spoon of cinnamon]<\/p>\n