how to make a syrupy red wine reduction?

[CathyR]

I have a recipe for a red wine reduction, which I've made several times. Flavor is wonderful, but it's a thin sauce. I KNOW I've heard chefs talk about cooking down a wine mixture until the sugars caramelize and the sauce becomes thick and syrupy. Mine never does! I pull it off the heat when it cooks down to the volume stated in the recipe. Any ideas?

[paulj]

Jose Andres, in his tapas book, has a recipe for such a syrup to be served with strawberries.

2c spicy red wine, 4T sugar, spices (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, zest).
reduce by 2/3, about 20 minutes
So the thing you may be missing is that sugar.

[fourunder]

I suspect you simply need to reduce a little longer. Most sauce recipe will call for reducing either 1/3 - 1/2 volume....then add butter pats to tighten. If you are making a sweet red wine reduction, you use equal parts red wine and granulated sugar.....heat until the sugar dissolves and you have a cough syrup like consistency..

Also, take into account that some wines are thinner so to speak, and do not reduce or evaporate at the same speed , as say a port wine......last, from my experience, fry pans work out better than sauce pots.