Cooking with wine

[allie]

I see a lot of recipes using white or red wine. Along with that I've heard that you should only use a wine in your cooking that you also like to drink. I'm not a big wine drinker so have been hesitant about buying any to use for cooking. I feel I'm missing out on a lot of culinary treats and would like some advice on buying wine for this purpose.

[KYHeirloomer]

Change that slightly, Allie, to not cooking with a wine that you wouldn't drink, and you'd be closer to the mark.

We don't drink a lot of wine here, either. But when choosing a cooking wine I shy away from the really cheap stuff that, to me, tastes cruddy. I ask myself, "would you drink this with what you are preparing?" If the answer is "no" then I know better next time.

Still and all, there are numerous wines selling for less than ten bucks that serve you well. You just have to experiment a little to find ones that suit you.

For whatever it may be worth, I have settled on two for my day-in, day-out cookery. For whites I go with an Australian Pinot Grigio. For reds its a Shiraz.

Some recipes do specify the kind of wine, and for those do not substitute. Madaira, Sherry, and Marsala, for instance, bring a particular flavor to the dish, and should be used where specified. But otherwise, find one of each that you like, and adopt them as your house wines.

[shel]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

We don't drink a lot of wine here, either. But when choosing a cooking wine I shy away from the really cheap stuff that, to me, tastes cruddy. I ask myself, "would you drink this with what you are preparing?" If the answer is "no" then I know better next time.

Still and all, there are numerous wines selling for less than ten bucks that serve you well. You just have to experiment a little to find ones that suit you.

I'd agree with KY, but would like to add that an opened bottle of wine, no matter what techniques you use to keep it "fresh" will have a limited shelf life. If you don't drink much wine I'd suggest buying 375ml bottles instead of the larger bottles. Another option is to freeze the unused wine if it won't be used in short order. It'll keep a lot better properly frozen then left in the bottle. You can even freeze it in zip-lock bags.

Finally, while I wouldn't suggest buying "plonk," some great bargains can be found, and a good wine can sometimes be had for as little as $5.00 or $6.00 a bottle. Look towards Chilean wines as a possibility, and believe it or not, there are some good wines to be had that have their origin in Arkansas as well as other states generally not associated with grape growing and wine production.

I've been satisfied with Trader Joe's Merlot when used in a spaghetti sauce, although in the future I'd probably opt for something a little better. But it wasn't bad.

Oh, one other thing - If you're having wine with dinner then it may be a good idea to use the same or a similar wine in the cooking of that dinner.

Have fun exploring the posibilities ....

Shel

[allie]

Thanks for your responses! Shel, I was going to ask how long I can keep it but freezing is no problem. We never drink it with dinner. Neither of us have found a wine we really cared to drink at all. Occasionally, I'll have some but that is few and far between because I just don't know what to buy. lol

The only wine I will drink of the ones I've tried is from an Indiana Winery....Oliver. They have a soft red that I enjoy in a spritzer with Sprite on occasion. I've also had one from St. Julian's in Michigan that I enjoyed but can't find it unless I travel to the winery. None of the stores carry it and I can't mail order since it's against Indiana law.

Once I did buy some from a local store and while I can't remember the name off the top of my head, I do remember it when I see it. That stuff was just awful! lol That's why I wanted some advice. I don't want to keep repeating the same mistakes. I'll take a look around and see what else I can find, maybe along the lines of the Chilean or Australian. I know I see Australian wines a lot.

Thanks!!

[allie]

I picked up a shiraz last weekend. The store is changing ownership and had a bunch of wine marked down to $2.99 per bottle. The one I got is a 2002 Stonehaven Shiraz from Australia. I also picked up a bottle of Italian white wine but that was a disaster. lol I put it in the freezer to quickly chill it for dinner Sunday night. A friend came over while we were cooking and I forgot to take it out. By the time I remembered, Monday afternoon the bottle had burst in the freezer! I think I would have liked it because I tried a little bit of wine slushy from inside the unbroken part of the bottle.

[Scarecrobot]

First of all start drinking wine. Good fo ya body good fo ya soul. And all it takes is the effort to try different brands and types. You can get an affordable bottle that tastes great and is good to cook with also. Although wine can be useful in cooking it's stature in a dish or sauce depends on the degree that you're using it. If it's an up front flavor component use something good if it's merely a background flavor, say you only really need it for some acidity. Any random inexpensive wine should do. The restaurant I work in for most marinades and basic sauces we use box wine.

[bluezebra]

I agree with robot. I wouldn't even necessarily drink the wine I'm cooking with lol. There were some tests done and the cheap stuff actually won out over so called "good" wines. Box wine works pretty good. I also use Dry Vermouth alot when white wine is called for. I use it for most of my weekday pan deglazing needs. Then I recap it and return it to my cool pantry till the next time! I keep Taylor dry sherry for the same purpose! We just end up drinking the bottles of red we open for cookin lol! So there's never any of that left open! We also have a small bottle of cognac that I keep in the kitchen for cooking. So those 3 items are a basic part of my pantry along with vinegars and bottle sauces like Worcerstershire, herb, spices, salt and pepper etc.

[allie]

I used some of the shiraz in a tomato based sauce I invented on Friday. I really liked it and so did the kids. Les wasn't thrilled with it. I haven't really found any wine I like enough to drink straight. I will drink some with Sprite. I just don't like the tartness? Hard to explain. I have bought wines that people said were sweet and I don't get it! Maybe I don't have a cultured pallete for tasting wines? I'm lost on the sweet, fruity, etc. flavors used to describe them.

[ash_work]

Try out recipes from cook books that give out the name of the fine first, whether it is Marsala or Shiraz or even just cooking wine. Once you get to know the tastes and understand the wine, then you can try out recipes of your own.

[seobeglobal]

have you ever tried pisco instead of wine??? it really taste good.

[allie]

No, I've never even heard of picso. What is it and where do you get it? Keep in mind, I live in rural Indiana so no Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or anything like that in my area. The best I can do is Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, and the various liquor stores.

[shel]

Originally Posted by allie

No, I've never even heard of picso. What is it and where do you get it? Keep in mind, I live in rural Indiana so no Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or anything like that in my area. The best I can do is Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, and the various liquor stores.

Pisco is a liquor made predominantly in Peru, Chile, and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia. A famous drink is the Pisco Sour - it's considered by many to be the "national drink" of Peru and Chile.

I forget just what grapes are used to make Pisco, and never cared enough to remember the ingredients that go into a Pisco Sour.

I'm not much of a drinker, but when I was in Peru I made it a point to sample a few Pisco Sours. The most enjoyable one was in a the As de Oro restaurant in the little town of ... Pisco, which, in around 1550, was where wine grapes were first planted in the Western hemisphere.

Shel

[OregonYeti]

Perhaps you should go to places that offer wine tasting. That way you don't buy a bottle unless you know you like it first. If it tastes bad by itself, there is nothing you can do to make it better.

My dad started drinking wine at 70 years because the doc said it was good for his heart (he had 4 stents put in). I found it amusing seeing my missionary minister dad getting a little woozy I visited my parents in NJ a couple weeks ago.

[OregonYeti]

When I started trying red wine I found Merlot and Marechal Foch very nice. They are 2 of my favorite varieties now. The Marechal Foch I got from Serendipity Winery in Western Oregon.

I visited France a few years ago with the attitude that I was sure France would fall short of the hype about wine, cheese, bread, food in general. After just a day there I had to admit it was fantastic. And it's hard to go wrong with French wine, even a 5-dollar bottle, in my experience.

[-Cp]

I think some of the best wines for Cooking for under $10 bux are from Columbia Crest Winery... you can find them everywhere..