[john_torras]

I was wondering is some of you have tried a wine called Mavrud - I heard it's very nice cooking ingredient.

[cape chef]

Originally Posted by john_torras

I was wondering is some of you have tried a wine called Mavrud - I heard it's very nice cooking ingredient.

Mavrud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Jenyfari]

My rule of thumb is just to use a wine I like. Generally though for cooking I won't spend more than $10 a bottle but it still has to be something I will like. I am from Australia and most Australian wines are excellent. I haven't had a bad one yet...even the cheapies.

[PPD]

What is the best "overall" wine to use when cooking with chicken dishes. I'm sure there are hundreds of choices, I'm just looking for a good overall wine.

Thanks

[shel]

Originally Posted by PPD

What is the best "overall" wine to use when cooking with chicken dishes. I'm sure there are hundreds of choices, I'm just looking for a good overall wine.

Short answer: There is none. It really depends on the dish, but often it just comes down to whether you want/need a white or red, sweet or dry wine to get the proper results. FWIW, Cook's Illustrated tested a number of wines for cooking and concluded one of the wines in a box, with the collapsable plastic bladder, was a "best choice." I'll use what's handy - If I'm opening a bottle to have with dinner, I'll use that. Other times Trader Joe's Two-Buck Chuck ($3.00 in NY State) is often a go-to wine. For red I've had good results with their Merlot

Recently while watching a well known chef prepare a lamb dish, I heard hims say, when asked a similar question, that "it doesn't matter." At least it didn't in the case of the dish he was preparing. He used two bottles of red as a braising liquid, and they were different wines.

Now, that said, there are some dishes that may require a specific wine or wine type, but usually the recipe will tell you that.

So, the short of it is, don't fret about it.

shel

[DC Sunshine]

Price isn't necessarily indicative of the quality of a wine, just find one red and one white you like and stick with them maybe to start. It adds another dimension to the flavour. Where would a coq au vin or a beef burgundy be without it? I like to add cabernet sauvignon to my beef and tomato sauces to go over pasta.

The tartness you taste will lessen somewhat with the cooking process as most of the alcohol cooks off - add some sugar into the dish if its still too tart, especially if you're cooking a dish with tomatoes. It really does make a difference. You might enjoy a sparkling wine if you're looking to start growing a wine pallette (champagne if the budget allows!). It can also be handy in cooking, and its nice to have while you're cooking!

If you're looking for Australian wines, some good areas are Barossa Valley and Coonawarra, Clare Valley also, all in South Australia, Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Margaret River in Western Australia. There are many good areas, but these spring to mind.