When I was stationed in New Jersey, in the lovely <koff> metropolis of Pemberton, just outside Fort Dix/McGuire AFB, I found a wine in the base Class 6 store (that’s milspeak for the liquor store).
Tomasello Winery is a New Jersey winery, located in Hammonton, sort of on the way to Atlantic City. That’s mid-southern New Jersey for the geographically challenged, who consider all of New Jersy to be Soprano like. That part of New Jersey is green and sprawling and very beautiful.
Anywho, the wine I found at the Class 6 store was called a Mulled Spice Wine. I don’t remember the time of year I bought it, but I like to fantasize that it was turning nippy, which is a nice time to drink mulled red wine.
It’s not for connoisseurs, I don’t think. It’s unexceptional, and far too sweet for most people’s taste. Here’s the description from Tomasello’s website:
Tomasello Mulled Spice Wine is made from a moderately sweet Native American grape flavored with cinnamon and clove. Often served warm with a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick, this wine has been called the perfect “après-ski” wine. Mulled Spice is very popular around the Holidays but available year-round.
But on a frosty cold day, this wine will warm you up.
I found out the very hard way that, due to some laws that were enacted in the post-Prohibition era, several states will not ship alcohol out of their state. New Jersey, of course, is one of them. (So are most of the surrounding states.) So I can’t have the wine shipped here. Even if someone who lives in the state goes and buys the wine, they can’t haul it to their local UPS store and send it to me. (Believe me, we tried.)
So I resorted to trying to make my own tonight. A cheap-ish country red wine made my a local Missouri vineyard, some mulling spices, a wee bit of sugar and warmed over my trusty ceramic stovetop.
It wasn’t the same, but it’ll do in a pinch. Sigh.
