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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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2
Select a deep, ovenproof, nonreactive saucepan that will hold the pears snugly when they are placed in it upright.
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3
Pour the wine and orange juice into the pan.
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4
Peel the pears, taking care to leave the stems intact.
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5
If desired, remove the cores, digging them out with the point of a vegetable peeler or knife.
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6
As the pears are peeled, place them upright in the saucepan, coating them with the wine mixture so they do not discolor.
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7
Place the saucepan in the oven and bake the pears for 3 hours, basting occasionally, until they are very tender.
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8
Remove the pears from the oven and carefully transfer them to a dish that will still hold them upright.
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9
Add the orange zest and honey to the saucepan and boil the remaining liquid until it is reduced to about 1/3 cup, turns a caramel color and becomes very syrupy.
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10
Toward the end of the cooking, the syrup will start to boil up in the pan; remove it from the heat and allow it to settle to determine whether it needs additional boiling.
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11
Do not allow the syrup to scorch.
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12
Pour it over the pears.
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13
Refrigerate them until serving time.
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14
Serve the pears in chilled goblets or dishes, with sorbet or ice cream on the side, if desired.
