In the winter months you can sometimes find a bottle of "Cheap Red Wine". Yes, that's what it's called. They stock it during cold weather specifically for this recipe. You can use mulling spices with it if you don't have all the ingredients for your recipe. It's quite popular in Germany. Can't remember exactly what it's called - something like "glut wine" or "glee wine". It sure is good on a cold night. My Air Force daughter was stationed one time at an Air Base that was shared with the German Army. Many a cold night we would all sit outside around a campfire and drink this. We sang songs and shared stories. Wonderful camaraderie. You've brought back some wonderful memories.