Mulled Wine Sorbet Recipe — Deluxe Sangria Scoops of Summer
Mulled Wine Sorbet — The Most Unexpected Summer Recipe You'll Ever Make
What if the drink that warms you through winter could also be the most spectacular thing you serve at a summer dinner party?
Mulled wine sorbet is exactly that. Rich, spiced and deeply fruity — it tastes like the most deluxe sangria you've ever had, frozen into a perfect scoop. We've made this ourselves and it genuinely stops people mid-conversation when you bring it to the table.
It takes about 15 minutes of active effort, one Mulled Beverages spiced bag, and a bottle of red wine. The freezer does the rest.
Why does this work so well?
Mulled wine is already halfway to a sorbet — it's spiced, sweetened, and built around bold fruit flavours. When you freeze it, those flavours concentrate rather than disappear. The cinnamon, star anise, orange and clove that make it so warming in winter become something bright and complex when cold.
The result sits somewhere between a wine sorbet and a spiced granita — sophisticated enough for a dinner party, easy enough to make on a Tuesday afternoon.
What you'll need
Fills one Ninja pint — serves 2 generously
- 1 cup (250ml) McWilliams Shiraz or Merlot — or any full-bodied red
- 1 x Mulled Beverages Mulled Wine Spiced Bag
- ½ cup (125ml) water
- ½ cup (90g) sugar
- Optional: 1–2 tsp Cointreau or triple sec
To serve:
- Fresh berries — blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or cherries all work beautifully
- Dehydrated Orange Garnish and a stick of Premium Cinnamon— for a finishing touch that ties it back to the mulled wine
How to make it
Step 1 — Make the mulled base
Add the wine, Cointreau and spiced bag to a small saucepan. Heat gently to infuse the mulled wine spice mix, then bring to a strong simmer for 4 minutes. You want some of the alcohol to cook off — this is what allows the mixture to freeze rather than staying slushy.
Remove the spiced bag and discard. Your base should be fragrant, deeply coloured and slightly syrupy.
Step 2 — Cool it down
Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Don't rush this step — pouring warm liquid into your freezer container can affect the texture of the finished sorbet.
Step 3 — Freeze
Pour into your Ninja pint container — don't go past the MAX fill line. This recipe makes approximately 400–450ml which fits perfectly without overflowing. Place in the freezer for 12–24 hours until completely solid.
Step 4 — Process
Once fully frozen, process on the Sorbet setting. That's it. Both the Ninja Creami and the Ninja Swirl use the same Sorbet setting for this recipe — no adjustments needed between machines.
Step 5 — Serve
Three scoops in a bowl. Add a handful of fresh berries and a slice of dehydrated orange on the rim. Serve immediately.
Troubleshooting
Too powdery? Run the Sorbet setting again for a second spin.
Too crumbly? Add 1–2 tablespoons of red wine or water directly to the pint, then respin.
Too soft? Pop it back in the freezer for another hour before processing.
Don't have a Ninja machine?
You can still make this — you just need to adjust the recipe slightly. Add an extra 2–3 teaspoons of Cointreau or triple sec to the base before freezing. The higher alcohol content prevents the mixture from freezing completely solid, which means you can scoop it straight from a standard container without processing. The texture will be looser — closer to a granita than a smooth sorbet — but the flavour is just as good.
A note on the wine
A full-bodied red works best here — Shiraz and Merlot both hold up beautifully once spiced and frozen. McWilliams Shiraz is our go-to for this recipe and it's readily available at Dan Murphy's. For a full guide to choosing the right red for mulled wine generally, see our Mulled Wine Pairing Guide.
What to do with leftover mulled wine
This recipe is a natural home for any leftover mulled wine sitting in your fridge. If you've already made a batch and you're wondering what to do with it, just use it as your base — skip the infusing step and go straight to the cool and freeze stage.
For everything else you can do with leftover mulled wine — including how long it keeps, whether the microwave works, and whether you can drink it cold — see Can You Reheat Mulled Wine?
Ready to make it?
You'll need one Mulled Beverages Mulled Wine Spiced Bag per batch. A pack of ten means you've got nine more reasons to experiment — and trust us, once you've made this once, you'll be making it again.