Mulled Wine and Berry Sauce

This sauce goes brilliantly with the Pannacotta recipe to make a delicious, Christmas-spiced dessert.  You could also use it to poach pears or apples for a warming winter pudding.

1. Put all of the ingredients except for the blackberries into a medium sized saucepan over a moderate heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
   
2. Bring everything to the boil then turn the heat down and let the liquid simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Strain the sauce to remove the cinnamon, cardamom, orange peel and cloves and put the sauce back into the pot.
   
4. Add the blackberries and simmer for a further 5 minutes.