Cooking with wine - a few questions

I enjoy a nice glass of wine from time to time, but it's not something I have on hand most times.  True that you should only cook with wine you would drink... NOT stuff you might fnd in supermarket called "cooking" wine.  Liquor stores around me sell LITTLE bottles (maybe 4 oz or what ever that is in metric) of stuff that totally usable to cook with.  I'll buy a "six pack" of something red and something white and have used that with satisfactory results.

Making any long stew like ragú, beef bourguignon, tail stew, ossobucco, etc.) is one way to introduce yourself in cooking with wine. You can find many recipes online and in youtube. And yes, you use nice wines, not top 100 Wine Spectator list, but good, healthy wines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayertplsko 

 

There's a rule that you shouldn't use wine in a dish if you wouldn't drink it, but I've never seen it explained.

It's a direct reference to quality.  If you wouldn't drink it because it tastes bad/no flavor, then it's not something you want to put in your food either.

There are fairly good wines that are also reasonably priced.  Ask for recommendations at the store, or try different ones and keep a list.

As far as I know, there's nothing you can do to a bad wine to make it good.

Many red wines will benefit significantly from being opened early and left to breathe.  Decanting is even better.

OK. Here is something I posted in another thread. It was good/true then ... I think is is also the same here. 

~ Don't ever use "cooking wine". Completely fictitious, no such real thing. Only use a wine that you would drink. It doesn't have to be expensive, just good enough that you would drink it on it's own. 

~ Use the same wine (same varietal) that you are drinking with the meal. If you will be drinking a pinot noir, use a pinot noir. That's not too tough. However, it doesn't have to be the same pinot noir. As an example, I'm not going to cook with a $98 bottle of juice; I will though, no questions asked, drink that bottle. 

~ Pick wines that will go with the profile you are looking for; smooth/creamy : chardonnay, clean/crisp : viognier; bold/full : cab-sauv, fruit/fresh : carménère.

~ Pick and drink what you like. Don't get into any ideal relationships because someone or some book tells you to. You're buying with your money, eating/drinking with your palate.

~ Find a local wine store (LWS) that has regular tastings (preferably free). Try as many wines as you like. Learn things about what you like. Remember what sucks. 

*~ Vocabulary: Quality Price Ratio (QPR): Wines that are inexpensive, but drink like they cost a lot. One of my current favorites is an $8 juice that drinks like $40. I buy it at a grocery store. 

There is only one(1) place acceptable for using 2-$-Chuck. That would be as a "holy wine" for church services, so that the clergy members don't become winos. 2-$-Chuck is not suitable for any discussion in any professional level food/wine conversation. I wouldn't use 2-$-Chuck as a gag grab-bag gift for the winos at the shelter. 

Here are nice links to a good wine threads: 

What are the best supermarket wines?

Differentiating the wine

Slayertplsko, let me make sure that I understand. 

In your family, drinking wine is not necessarily a pleasant or everyday occurrence? 

The wine that you've had is a sour white wine and a red that is "alcohol and tannins",

oh and a Chardonnay from Chile that put you back 10 euros aka $12.27 US dollars. 

For me, I wouldn't like to cook with a wine that cost that much, on top of that I personally don't care for Chardonnay. 

Is it that you do not care for wine?  Because if you do not, then maybe you might want to stick with stock instead. 

No judgment though, my husband hates wine, but I do cook with it and he enjoys what I make for him, mostly :)

Maybe you could find a reputable wine shop and as chef Dave11 said, ask questions of the shop owner,

maybe enough see if they ever have any wine tastings? 

I've been to many tastings in the evenings.  Many Vineyards, at least in the US will do that to promote themselves.

That could be fun and you may find a nice, inexpensive wine to cook with.

Slayertplsko, as to your last question on how to properly store wine, I yield to other members who are more versed,

as for myself, in our house, wine doesn't stick around that long

I had a thought as I read your post: is Italian dry Vermouth available in your town?

that can easily be subbed out for wine in any recipe. 

there was another thread not so long ago on Chef Talk on that topic of Vermouth, you may want to look and see.

As to a Wine Festival in September, I would encourage you to try it and should you find one that you like,

maybe buy just a few bottles and keep them in your refrigerator. 

I thought that I didn't like wine at all until I went to a tasting myself, had a little too much fun