Cooking with Wine

Cooking is big business. Cookbooks and recipes abound. T.V. chefs entertain and inform us 24 hous a day.

How quickly we forget that our grandmothers probably cooked everything they made without benefit of any of these resources — and in many cases did as well, or even better than today’s harried cooks.

But cooking styles have changed over the past two generations. Perhaps it was because we became more affluent and went out to dinner more often; then came home, desiring to replicate some of the tasty dishes prepared by professional chefs. One of the secrets of many professionally prepared dishes, we learned, was wine.

And so published recipes began to reflect the use of wine. The trouble was... rarely were we told which wine to use. Almost every recipe calling for wine only asks for “dry red” or “dry white,” as though it doesn’t matter much which wine we choose.

A great fallacy has grown up over the notion that “cooking wine” can be inferior to wine intended for drinking. Indeed, we can buy “cooking wine” in supermarkets. Don’t. Not only are these wines inferior, they are salted.

So what wines should we use for cooking? The short answer is, Wines appropriate to the dish. We routinely try to use the freshest vegetables, the most flavorful stocks, the most appropriate meats — so we should use the most appropriate wines, as well.

Don’t

Use “cooking wine.”
Use wine unsuitable to serve to your guests.

Do

Use middle grade wines. Avoid really inexpensives wines, as they will not contribute a good flavor and may possess some characteristics that will ruin your dish. Poor wine will definitely detract from the quality of your preparation. Don’t use great wine, either. Remember, what you want from the wine is flavor  

White

It’s hard to do better than a white Vermouth for general cooking purposes. They can be found as cheaply as $4 a litre. Vermouth is stronger and more alcoholic than dry white table wines, so you might use a little less.

Red

There’s no easy way to recommend a “one size fits all” red wine for cooking. But here are some considerations:

1. Red wines tend towards a dry aspect or a fruity one. Choose dry if possible. Dry red wines for cooking include Italian Chianti and Spanish Rioja; these make splendid cooking wines. Fruity wines would include Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Gamay, and most other California red wines.

2. If you choose a California wine, the best general purpose red cooking wine is probably Cabernet Sauvignon. Choose one costing around $10 or less. Cabernets are packed with flavor, which will enhance your food.

Regional Wines

If you’re making a Spanish dish, by all means use Spanish wine. Dry Oloroso Sherry makes a splendid cooking wine, lending a specifically Spanish note. Inexpensive wines from Rioja or Ribera del Duero work wonders. Even the very inexpensive red Crianzas from La Mancha are perfectly suitable.

If you’re preparing an Italian dish, use an inexpensive red or rosso from southern Italy, such as Salice Salentino or Rosso del Salento. You probably won’t do badly with any dry Italian red.

French dishes are more difficult, as middle grade French wines are probably too expensive to cook with; and low end ones may not be suitable. Better to substitute Italian, unless your dish calls for a certain wine. Chicken Chambertin must be made with Pinot Noir. And Boeuf Bourguinonne is best made with Pinot Noir also. (Choose a middle grade California Pinot Noir.)