Homemade Mulled Wine Jelly
A hot mug of mulled wine was one of my favorite parts of visiting Germany’s Christmas markets, but this year I’m enjoying GlĂĽhwein in jelly form!
Homemade Mulled Wine Jelly is my favorite filling for Linzer Cookies! This recipe will make about three jars — one for the cookies, one for you and one for a friend!

Process
Making mulled wine jelly is actually quite easy! Here are the steps:
- Make the mulled wine. Steep warm wine with a bit of brandy, orange juice and spices. Discard the solids.
- Briefly boil the mulled wine with sugar and powdered fruit pectin (a gelling agent).
- Pour into jars and let cool for at least 12 hours before using.
Choosing pectin
A lot of recipes for jelly call for an insane amount of sugar, which really detracts from the beautiful wine flavor. Our low sugar wine jelly is just as easy to make, but you will need to make sure you have the right version of pectin. We use Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes — it’s in a pink box. This is very important. If you buy the original version of Sure Jell your jelly won’t set properly.
Storage
A quick note on storing: We make this jelly primarily around the holidays and it doesn’t usually last long. For that reason we haven’t formulated this recipe for safe canning. The jelly will keep for about a month in the refrigerator.
Mulled Wine Jelly Recipe
- Total Time: 12 hours 42 minutes
- Yield: 3 jars
Ingredients
- 750 ml bottle dry red wine
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) brandy
- 1 orange
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole star anise
- 6 whole cloves
- 4 juniper berries (optional)
- 1 (1.75 ounce) box Sure Jell for less or no sugar needed recipes (the pink box version*)
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar, divided
Instructions
- Pour the wine and brandy into a saucepan. Squeeze in the juice of one orange. You can also add some of the orange peel if you’d like, but make sure to avoid the pith (white part). Stir in the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and juniper berries.
- Bring the mixture to a slight simmer over medium heat and cook for one minute.
- Turn off the heat (but leave the pot on the burner), cover and let the mixture steep for at least one hour.
- Strain the mulled wine into a bowl and discard the solids.
- In a clean large saucepan, whisk together the Sure Jell, water and 1/4 cup (50 g) of sugar until smooth. Pour in the mulled wine and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup (150 g) of sugar and continue whisking until the mixture returns to a rolling boil. Cook for two minutes at a rapid boil, whisking constantly, then remove from heat. Skim off any foam from the top and carefully pour into jars, leaving at least 1/2 inch (12 mm) of head space.
- Let cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate until set (at least 12 hours).
Notes
Sure Jell:Â Sure Jell comes in several formulations. For this jelly, you need to make sure to the get the Sure Jell for Use in Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes. It comes in a pink box. Your jelly won’t set properly using the original Sure Jell.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Inactive Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Jelly
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Global
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