Spiced Red Wine Punch - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Holiday Spice Syrup
1 quart water
1 cup sugar
5 star anise pods
5 allspice berries
3 cinnamon sticks (3-inch each)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
Spiced Red Wine Punch
4 (750 ml) bottles fruity red wine, such as Beaujolais or (750 ml) bottles shiraz wine
1 1/4 cups holiday spice syrup (above recipe)
pomegranate seeds, for garnish
sliced kumquat, for garnish
ice cube, for serving

Preparation

Holiday Spice Syrup: Combine the water, sugar, star anise pods, allspice berries, cinnamon sticks and vanilla bean and seeds in a large saucepan and simmer over moderately low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the syrup and chill.
Combine the red wine and 1 1/4 cup of the holiday spice syrup in a very large punch bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds and kumquat slices and serve over ice.