Choose a pot that is just large enough to hold all the pears. Do not add any pear at this point. Add wine, sugar, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves & salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Peel the pears, leaving the stems intact. Trim the bottom of the pears slightly, so they can sit up straight on their own. Add the pears to the wine. Cook over medium-low heat until the pears are just tender, about 20 – 35 minutes, rotating the pears every 5 minutes for even poaching. To check if the pears are ready, pierce the bottom of a pear with a toothpick. It should meet little resistance, as it will continue to cook off the heat. Transfer the pears to a large casserole dish (with them sitting up). Set aside.
Remove all the spices and orange peel from the wine. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Reduce to about 1½ – 2 cups, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Spoon a couple tablespoons syrup to coat each pear. Transfer the casserole dish with the pears to the fridge and chill uncover for at least 2 hours. Keep the leftover syrup in the fridge to chill as well.
When ready to serve, transfer the pears to serving plates. Drizzle a little more syrup over the pears. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.