General Cider questions

I'm working on tweaking my cider recipe, in my newest batch I added raisins, ginger and a few other fresh ingredients that seemed sure to add lots of delicious flavor. I added it when I was simmering the cider before adding yeast, and after several months of aging, I tasted it & I'm sad to say I can't really taste the ingredients at all. Any suggestions? Should I add my special ingredients at a different time?

Also, after fermentation & after it has been bottled and aged for several months, will heating it affect it? I love hot cider in the winter but I don't want to ruin my cider

I don't know enough to really give a great answer, but yes, the flavors will tend to mellow over time and that seems to have happened. Flavors are odd though, and there's a chance that in time those flavors will come back up but only time will tell. You could potentially add the same flavor enhancers in the primary or secondary fermentation. ALso, you don't necessarily have to heat cider before adding yeast. (Pasturized vs unpasturized cider for example)

And post fermentation/drinking state. Yes, heating will affect any alcoholic drink. If you're heating the bottles, I would recommend against that. However, if you pour it into a non-reactive pot and let it warm up, it could be good, or it could be bad. You might want to add fresh ginger and spices and even brown sugar at that time to make a mulled alcoholic cider, or you can mix fresh cider and the bottled cider in that pot and heat it. (The same applies to Mulled beer and Mulled Wine, Sake, and even Mead) Even then, some styles are better heated than others, (red wine vs white wine for example, specific varietals and even then, among a particular style, one estate/farm/winery will taste good warmed, but another estate will not). Same thing with cider. Different styles will taste differently. So yeah.. try heating yours, try heating woodchucks (even their different kinds, plain, spiced, etc), try heating harpoons, magners, strongbow, etc. I'm fairly sure that some will be good, some bad.