Tahoe’s Best Mulled Wine
There’s nothing like sitting slopeside of a mountain on a wintry day, gazing across the lake from the upper deck of a wine bar, or hanging out with your friends after the day ends to reminisce about your recent adventure with a hot cup of mulled wine in your hands.
Thought to have originated in ancient Rome to provide warmth, flavor, and medicinal properties during the chilly months, hot mulled wine has a long history of adding a bit of flair to European ski towns. And while everyone from Martha Stewart to the New York Times has their own recipe on how to make it, here’s where you can find it in Tahoe (along with local bartender commentary about what makes theirs stand out):
The Chalet at Palisades Alpine, Tahoe City
The small ski-in ski-out Bavarian style ski lodge is best known for its partnerships with local proprietors to create its giant pretzels and sausages, but the first thing I noticed while taking a snowboarding break last season was how delicious their hot mulled wine is. While Alpine Food & Beverage Director Dan Sanderman and F&B General Manager Sullivan Ware wouldn’t share the exact recipe for its mulled wine, they did admit that it’s made with mulling spices, brandy, and a half portion of red wine, then the spices are steeped for 6-8 minutes (Sanderman admitted that the process involves steeping the herbs in a bouquet garni wrapped-cheesecloth technique). Once cooled, they add the other half of the wine along with some brandy.
The mulled wine is served at its special Chalet Dinner series events, as everyone is given a cup at the Alpine Lodge before snowshoeing up under the stars to the cozy Chalet.
“I’ve been here 11 years, and it’s been a consistent bar drink for a decade,” Sanderman adds.
Snowflake Lodge at Diamond Peak Ski Resort, Incline Village
Served at Diamond Peak’s mid-mountain Snowflake Lodge and/or the Loft Bar at its Main Lodge, this ski resort’s take on the classic winter wine drink involves a cozy blend of grenache and merlot gently simmered with French brandy, golden honey, star anise, cinnamon sticks, orange zest, cranberries, and cloves.
“The result is a rich, aromatic winter favorite that’s sweet, spiced and perfectly balanced to chase away the chill during or after a day on the slopes,” says Diamond Peak Marketing Manager Paul Raymore.
Café Zenon at the Tahoe City Winter Sports Park, Tahoe City
When the winter months come around, Tahoe City Golf Course turns into a winter wonderland with cross-country ski trails, an ice skating rink, sledding, and snowshoeing activities.
Next to the ice skating rink, Café Zenon serves grab n’ go snacks and warm fare including favorites such as grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken tenders with fries, and a Vietnamese French Dip. But its cocktails are just as well known as its food, with its winter mulled wine especially being a big hit.
“We make this every winter. I use a traditional Scandinavian wine recipe, with a popular Swedish Glogg wine but have done some iterations off that,” says Café Zenon General Manager Jake Spero. Spero ran the bar at PlumpJack Café for many years testing out different mulled wine recipes before bartending at Café Zenon, where he’s continued to perfect his mulled wine recipe for the last seven winters.
“I’ve made many batches of mulled wine,” he says. “I’ve done a lot of research on how different countries do it; I’ve looked up German versions, how they make it in France, and in other countries. Every country has their own recipe. It’s a fun rabbit hole to go down, experimenting with different mulled wines.”
His favorite mulled wine recipe includes a little agave with fennel, in a combination close to a Scandinavian style of gin. Café Zenon unrolls all its winter hot drinks out around Thanksgiving, which also includes a hot butter rum, snugglers, hot toddies, and a hot apple pie made with Tuaca and cider from Apple Hill—all equally as popular as the hot mulled wine.
“It’s the same apple juice [from Apple Hill] that the kids drink, we just add some Tuaca to the adult version. And then everyone just sits by the fire and gets all warmed up,” Spero smiles.
Himmel Haus, South Lake Tahoe
Across the street from Heavenly’s California Base Lodge is “Tahoe’s wurst experience”, the Himmel Haus. The German Bavarian acts as a popular go-to for skiers and riders coming off the mountain, filtering in to warm up next to one of its stone fireplaces and grab a schnitzel.
During its Oktoberfest celebration as the servers all walked around dressed in dirndls, the bartender who’s been there for seven years named Charlie said that they bring out their mulled wine around Thanksgiving—or when it really starts getting cold. It consists of a red wine and blend of herbs (such as star anise, cloves, juniper, and cinnamon sticks) combined with cinnamon, whiskey, and honey, using a percolator to steep it.
“Once the mountain opens it gets busy; we sell a lot of mulled wine to skiers coming in,” he says. “It creates a nice aroma throughout the restaurant.”
The Idle Hour, South Lake Tahoe
Located on Lake Tahoe Boulevard, The Idle Hour is the best place to go to enjoy a glass of wine no matter what kind of varietal you’re into… mainly because its cozy two-story interiors project directly over Lake Tahoe. The first time I went to The Idle Hour was in February 2021. It was in the heart of the winter season and the moment I walked in I was greeted with a steaming cup of mulled wine, the pot of it kept hot on a soup warmer. The GM at the time told me that “people can’t get enough of it.” I had brought a book with me but ended up looking at the lake instead.
Now, four years later, not much has changed. The Idle Hour still has that same welcoming atmosphere with unparalleled views and serves up its signature hot mulled wine all winter long starting in October.
“We have some proprietary spices and mix it with apple cider and merlot,” says The Idle Hour General Manager Alex Reber. The Idle Hour sees a spike in mulled wine sales in November/December, but they also give discounts on it on National Mulled Wine Day, which is March 3, 2026.
Cold Water Brewery, South Lake Tahoe
The inside of Cold Water Brewery is clean and cozy, with the bar easily to spot when you walk in. The bartender Jordan (who’s originally from South Lake Tahoe and moved back after spending a stint in Florida) always seems to stay busy, expertly mixing up drinks and pouring its signature beers out of the tap for thirsty patrons.
Since at the time of this writing it was still Oktoberfest season, Cold Water Brewery hadn’t brought out their adult winter concoctions such as its Hot Buttered Rum or Remedy (turmeric, ginger, honey, black pepper, whisky) yet. While they don’t technically have a mulled wine on this season’s menu, Cold Water does serve a winter sangria which comes darn close. Cold Water Brewery keeps a mulled spice wine concentrate on hand year-round, adding hot water to it in the colder months and a splash of Sprite or soda water to it in the summer over ice.
The winter version is made with red wine, triple sec, brandy, OJ, pineapple juice, and a batch of winter spices such as cloves, allspice, thyme, star anise, and cinnamon that simmer in a crockpot for a few days, then is strained out. As with a typical sangria, the fruit added to it soaks up much of the alcohol which serves as an adornment to the drink.
I tried the iced version and tasted winter flavors, especially the allspice and thyme. Taking a bite into the boozy peach perched on the rim, it tasted of triple sec. Yep, one of these when it’s snowing outside will warm you right up.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the Winter 2025/26 edition of Tahoe Magazine.
