Mulled wine investigated This mulled wine was in eco-test through

The pre-Christmas time has begun. The first mulled wine stands are opened. "If it's mulled wine, then it should also be good," writes Ökotest in his latest issue, reporting on a mulled wine test. "However, we can only recommend just over half of the 20 products tested. Three conventional and one organic mulled wine fail with poor and unsatisfactory grades. "
Now the time has come. Temperatures are falling and the stalls on the Christmas markets are luring gingerbread, stollen and cinnamon stars. Only one thing is missing: mulled wine. The hot wine is made with cinnamon, cloves and many spices. But who indulges a glass or two, should pay attention to quality. Because with many products this is not given.

Mulled wine test: Half fell through mercilessly. Image: Alexander Raths - fotolia

The consumer advocates of "Öko-Test" have examined 20 different varieties. "10 bottles fell through", so the devastating result. Here are the results in the overview. Only two mulled wines got the rating "very good", four products were "poor" or even "insufficient".
The mulled wine was analyzed for smell, taste and ingredients. Varieties of Real, Netto, Ikea and German winegrowers were tested. It was noticeable that a bioproduct performed particularly badly.

These mulled wines are according to Ökotest "poor" or "insufficient":
Voelkel Spanish Mulled Wine, Voelkel (6,47 Euro)
Hüttenglut mulled wine, Real (0,99 Euro)
Christmas mulled wine, Netto (0,99 Euro)
OWK German Mulled Wine, Ortenauer Winery (3,99 Euro)

These wines are "good" or "very good":
Heil Mulled Wine, Winery Heil (1,83 Euro)
Rapp's Glühwein, Rapp's Kelterei (1,99 Euro)
Ikea Glögg Vinglögg, Ikea (3,33 Euro)
Farmer mulled wine, farmer fruit juice (2,29 Euro)

Very disappointing is Voekel's organic mulled wine, reports Ökotest in its December 2015 issue. Even the legal limits for copper are exceeded. That means, actually, the wine should not be sold at all. "Disappointing on the whole line", so the devastating verdict of Ökotest.

The winter goods were not always better than the mass products. For example, the mulled wine was rated "good" by the Swedish furniture manufacturer Ikea, while the Ortenau winery got only a "poor". Decisive was an artificial taste, which came about through the flavoring gamma-decalactone.

Nett's supermarket mulled wine also passed the test. The reason: The wine contained Schwefelböckser. This typical wine error is particularly unpleasant. Because then it stinks of "rotten eggs," explain the consumer advocates. "Böckser arises during fermentation". If there was good ventilation or if copper sulphate was added, such an odor of the egg could not arise.

Wine law sets standards
The EU has laid down in its wine law which quality standards must meet mulled wine. Thus, the alcohol content should be between at least seven and no more than 14.5 percent. The hot drink may be made from red or white wine and contain spices such as cinnamon and cloves. It is generally forbidden to stretch mulled wine with water or to heat it to over 78 degrees. If the respective criteria are not met, the drinks may only be sold as "flavored alcoholic beverages", otherwise penalties of up to € 1,000 are imminent. (Sb)