Vin Brulé (Italian-Style Mulled Wine)

• 1 cup (about 220 grams) sugar
• 2 750-ml bottles red wine, preferably something from Piedmont, Italy
• Peel of 1 lemon
• Peel of 1 orange
• 1 apple, sliced thinly
• 2 to 3 star anise
• 8 to 12 cloves
• 2 or 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 to 2 pinches ground nutmeg
• 1 to 2 vanilla pod

1. First, make a syrup that will be the base of your vin brule. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, add the sugar and just cover it with red wine; you'll add the rest later. Before turning on the heat, use an immersion blender to make sure the sugar is distributed among the wine and therefore more quickly to cook down. Turn the heat to medium-high. Then, add the lemon and orange peels, sliced apple, and spices to the pot, and bring to a boil. Whisk constantly for about 8 to 10 minutes until what's left is a syrup. You can take a few breaks from whisking to let it boil, but keep an eye on it. You don't want it to cook down too much, and I'd check the viscosity once you've reached 8 minutes.
2. Once you're happy with your syrup, all that's left is to add the rest of the wine! Keep the vin brule warm but not too hot, as you don't want to cook off the alcohol too much. Ladle into cups or let guests do it themselves.

sugar, lemon, orange, apple, anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, ground nutmeg, vanilla pod

Taken from food52.com/recipes/73121-vin-brule-italian-style-mulled-wine (may not work)