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Ingredients
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Wine Base
Aromatics & Balance
Finishing
Method
Wine Base
Prepare fruit purée
Roughly chop the peaches and apricots. Place them in a blender or food processor and pulse to a coarse purée—retain some texture. You should have about 2 cups combined; if fruit is very juicy, drain off up to 2 tbs of excess juice and reserve.
Combine wine and fruit
Pour the 750 ml dry white wine into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Stir in the fruit purée so it’s evenly distributed. Cover lightly with plastic wrap or a lid.
Aromatics & Balance
Bloom spices
Crush the cardamom pods lightly with the flat side of a knife to open them. In a small saucepan, combine the crushed cardamom pods, cloves, and 60 ml water. Heat gently until steaming but not boiling for about 3 minutes to bloom the aromatics, then remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes.
Dissolve honey and add acid
Warm the honey briefly in the saucepan with the steeped spices (very low heat) and whisk until the honey dissolves into the spiced water, about 1–2 minutes. Remove the spices with a fine mesh strainer and stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Allow syrup to cool to room temperature.
Finish base with honey syrup
When the honey-spice syrup is cool, whisk it into the wine-and-fruit mixture until fully incorporated. Taste and adjust: if you prefer sweeter, add up to 2 tbs more honey dissolved in a touch of warm water; if too sweet, add 1–2 tbs more dry white wine or a splash of lemon juice.
Finishing
Add brandy and vanilla
Stir in the 60 ml brandy and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or scrape vanilla bean seeds into the mixture and add the pod). The brandy raises the alcohol and adds warmth characteristic of dessert wines.
Macerate and rest
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours to allow flavors to meld and the fruit to macerate. Gently stir once or twice during this period.
Clarify and bottle
After maceration, strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean pitcher or carafe. Press down lightly on the solids to extract liquid but avoid forcing pulp through. Optionally, allow the strained liquid to settle in the refrigerator for 6–12 hours and decant off any sediment into a clean bottle.