Wassail and Wine

I'm staying on the seasonal fruit tip despite the glut of orange posts that appeared this weekend! We spent the early evening indulging in that most British of pasttimes; letting our feet freeze into solid blocks and singing christmas carols. When we got back I'd had the mulled wine steeping on the stove for an hour or so after letting it simmer for a while. Along with the traditional cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, oranges and lemon I'd let a healthy handful of cranberries soak in the liquid. These added a dry tone to the mulled wine, which is usually too sweet for me. Also, I filled a third of each cup with cranberry and elderberry tea before pouring in the wine to dilute it a little and soften the flavour. I made sure plenty of cranberries made it into each cup along with a generous pinch of lemon and orange zest.