Ingredients:

3 cups Ferrante’s Grand River Valley Riesling

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

One 3-inch-strip orange zest, any white pith scraped away

3 whole star anise pods

6 medium, ripe Bartlett pears–peeled, halved and cored

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

Directions:

To a large saucepan set over high heat, add the wine, water, sugar, orange zest, star anise pods and pear halves. Lay the vanilla bean halves on a cutting board and use the tip of a paring knife to scrape away the seeds; add the seeds and vanilla bean halves to the pan and bring to a boil, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Set the pears aside to cool completely, about 1 hour (a fork should slide easily through the pears). Transfer the pears to a plate and top with vanilla ice cream or Ferrante’s Ice Wine Whipped Cream, see site for recipe!