Festas Juninas, or the June Festivals, are now taking place in Brazil once again. As we explained last year in our posts on Pamonha Cake and Munguzá Doce or Canjica de Milho (Sweet Corn-Coconut Pudding) during this month Brazilians essentially celebrate the abundant corn harvest while thanking St. John for the rain. We also drink quentão, the typical beverage of these festivities…Quentão is precisely our recipe for today.
As I child, I always eagerly looked forward to participating in Festas Juninas every year.
Festas Juninas were and still are one of my favorite Brazilian celebrations. The excitement of this tradition is something that I am trying to pass on to my children, as you will see below.
Since we are planning to visit Brazil next June, they will finally have the opportunity to experience these festivals more fully than just enjoying corn dishes and dressing up as matutas (hillbillies)… I hope that they are enchanted by the sky lanterns, showers of fireworks, and bonfires just as I was… I hope that, just as I did when I was a girl, they get to dance quadrilha folk dances under an arraial (huge event space brightly decorated with strings of colorful flags and paper balloons, and filled with tents or rough stalls)… I hope they don’t mind listening to a few quirky superstitious rituals called simpatias which are carried out by single ladies in order to catch that special someone — although they are not yet at the age for that, fortunately. 
I don’t believe in simpatias, but I have a lot of fun listening to them.
I am sure that they will be able to recognize and appreciate many of the corn dishes that they will encounter there, such as sweet popcorn, canjica nordestina or curau, pamonha (pronounced pah-MOH-nyah), mungunzá doce, Brazilian cuscuz, fubá cake, as well as our treat for this year: Quentão, which can be translated as “Big Heat”. Before someone accuse me of serving alcohol to my children, I have to explain that quentão de vinho is suitable for children because all the wine alcohol content will be evaporated during the boiling process. If you wish, you can use grape juice instead of red wine.
Quentão de vinho or Brazilian mulled wine consists basically in a heated mixture of red wine, ginger, sugar, and spices such as cinnamon and cloves… Well, at least in southern Brazil where the largest production of wine is located. In northeastern Brazil, quentão is made from cachaça instead, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented sugarcane juice. For this post, we are making quentão de vinho or Brazilian mulled wine as I said earlier.
Enjoy!!!
Quentão deVinho
(Brazilian Mulled Wine)
Yield: About 5 cups
Segment: Brazilian cuisine
Ingredients:
34 fl. ounces (1 liter) red wine such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon (or grape juice if desired)
17 fl. ouces (1/2 liter) of water
1 orange, sliced
2 slices of fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup sugar (or more, if desired)
Directions:
Place all the ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly just until sugar has dissolved (about first 2-3 minutes of heating). Let boil for additional 10 minutes. Strain and serve warm. Garnish as desired.
You might also enjoy other corn dishes:
- Creamy Polenta with Rustic Chicken Stew (Xerém com Frango Ensopado)
- Corn Bread with Basil (Pão de Milho com Manjericão)
- Portuguese Corn Bread (Broa de Milho)
- Corn Muffins with Guava Paste ( Bolinhos de Milho com Goiabada)
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** A big thanks to my friend, Ana Caldas Maciel, for having taken two of the pictures above and sent them to me to be featured in this post: Boiled corn on the cobs and Table with several corn treats such as pamonha, canjica or curau, and cakes.
Daniela
June 19, 2013 at 5:38 pmThis looks like a wonderful tradition and such a joyful celebration!
It’s fantastic that you pass on this Brazilian tradition to your children.
The mulled wine looks delicious and I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks :))
Denise Browning
June 19, 2013 at 5:51 pmThanks, Daniela! They really enjoyed dressed up as hillbillies and eat some of those dishes.
SallyBR
June 19, 2013 at 10:28 pmque delicia de lembranca, mais uma vez! Festas Juninas! Tento explicar ao maridao o que sao as tais festas, acho que o melhor mesmo e’ mostrar a ele o seu artigo…. 😉
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 7:27 amPede ele pra ler, Sally!
madscar
June 20, 2013 at 4:02 amUau this is amazing:) I love it!
The Café Sucre Farine
June 20, 2013 at 7:01 amDenise, you’ve painted a lovely picture, I want to go with you. I love traditions like this which create such wonderful memories. I’d love to sip a glass of your Quentão de Vinho and enjoy the festivities!
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 7:28 amI wish you could come to Brazil with us, Chris!!! You’d love Festas Juninas.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
June 20, 2013 at 10:53 amCinnamon and cloves makes everything delectable! YUM!
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 11:01 amThanks, Kiran! I love spices…
Nami | Just One Cookbook
June 20, 2013 at 12:09 pmAwww your daughters are SUPER cute! The drinks look beautiful and tasy! You must be excited to visit Brazil next year! It’s wonderful for children to experience and absorb culture especially our own! 🙂 I’m heading to Japan in a couple of days. Hope they will especially learn more language.. 😀
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 12:28 pmThanks for stopping by, and have a blessed trip to Japan, Nami! See ya.
Abbe@This is How I Cook
June 20, 2013 at 4:20 pmDenise, what beautiful daughters. And what a great sounding drink. Perfect for sipping…
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 7:09 pmThank you, Abbe! I do agree…My babies are pretty! 🙂
Deb
June 20, 2013 at 6:29 pmWhat a wonderful summer celebration! And Brazilian Mulled Wine with cinnamon and ginger sounds tempting!
Denise Browning
June 20, 2013 at 7:12 pmDeb: Even my children drank it and absolutely loved it!
Anne@FromMySweetHeart
June 20, 2013 at 8:24 pmOh Denise….what a beautiful mulled wine and one of my favorite ways to enjoy wine in general. What a fabulous celebration and one I can imagine you look forward to every year! And those are two of the prettiest hillbillies I’ve ever seen! ;- )
Denise Browning
June 21, 2013 at 12:19 amThanks, Anne! This has been one of my fav Brazilian celebrations for many reasons…
Amber
June 21, 2013 at 7:13 amWonderful tradition!
The drinks look beautiful.
My husband is now in Brazil.
Mil besos!
Denise Browning
June 21, 2013 at 8:46 amHi, Amber! Thank you very much. This is a great drink. When you do have a chance, please try it (maybe in the fall/winter?). Wishing your husband a great time there although things have been rocky in Brazil because of the protests. Have a nice weekend!
Sugar et al
June 22, 2013 at 8:44 amSpices and Wine…that sounds awesome! What a lovely celebration Denise. And those colours are to die for. Loved your post!
Denise Browning
June 22, 2013 at 8:45 amThanks, Sonali!
Raymund
June 23, 2013 at 3:46 amYoure children are so cute 🙂 Nice to pass this tradition to them, which reminds me a lot of my grandmother who used to cook a lot of dishes where I learned from
Denise Browning
June 23, 2013 at 8:09 amIt is my way to make them experience Brazil and its culture since we are far from there and don’t get to go so often. Thanks for stopping by, Raymund! Grandmothers are blessings in one’s life. I miss mine!
Mi Vida en un Dulce
June 23, 2013 at 8:12 amSo, it’s like a hot sangria…I like it, specially because we already started winter so comes perfect for cold nights.
Denise Browning
June 23, 2013 at 1:04 pmYou are right, Nydia! It is like a hot sangria.
Kate@Diethood
June 23, 2013 at 9:25 amI love this!!! Gimme a glass…or ten! 🙂 And I LOOOOVE that you shared so much with us about your heritage. I want to go to Brazil!
Denise Browning
June 23, 2013 at 1:04 pmThanks, Kate! This festivity is one of the best that we have down in Brazil. It is full of life and colors, the corn dishes are exquisite, and the square dances are quite fun. I wish one day you will be able to experience that.
Liz
June 23, 2013 at 12:20 pmYour girls are adorable! And I’m certain they will remember all the special foods and traditions your share with them. Your wine sounds amazing!
Denise Browning
June 23, 2013 at 1:01 pmThanks, Liz! My girls are the apples of my eyes…
Juliana
June 25, 2013 at 2:13 pmFesta Juninas, que saudades…e quentao? I yet have to make this traditional drink…thanks for the recipe Denise. Your girls look so cute 🙂
Have a lovely week my dear!