I generally use Bordeaux, but for short ribs and heavier meats Zinfandel, but it’s more instinctive rather than based on testing. Thoughts?
I tend to use a pinot-based wine for Coq au Vin and heavier red for beef dishes.
I tend to use Syrah becuase I have a ton of it. And I tend to use Chardonnay if a white is called for, but sometimes a Sauv Blanc.
I have discovered that using overly extracted versions of Napa cabs instead of burgundy works wonders for short rib boeuf bourgignon. Heresy, I know, but it works. Also solves the problem of what to do with gifted wines that are not in my wheelhouse: I can honestly tell the gifter that I really did enjoy their wine.
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Yes! I use completely different wines depending on what I’m cooking. PN (Chicken) or Cab / Merlot (Beef Cheeks), Pinot Gris (Bolognese) or Riesling (off-dry, low alcohol for Baeckeoeffe!). My lazy go-to is actually a dry Marsala (e.g. mushrooms, deglazing).
I do. But not having the wines I needed for specific recipes I noticed that it didn’t change as much as I initially thought.
So my I do, might become an I don’t.
My experience (and a little logic) is that once you cook a wine for very long you have pretty much destroyed its original character. You get a bit of flavor, the acidity, maybe tannins, but not much else is left. Look at the braising liquid after cooking, a lot of the color is gone, and the flavor will be dominated by the meat at that point. Its different if you are doing a quick pan sauce, where the wine’s integrity can hold up to short heat exposure.
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Red and white. Whatever is open or I can dig out quickly.
I have noticed especially with pan sauces, a bad wine (like an overripe, oaky mess, or even worse, a mainstream grocery store brand) will really make a bad sauce. Not so meaningful with longer braises.
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My go to is cook with whatever wine you would pair with that main ingredient. Full bodied wine for gamey meat, light red for duck and rabbit, any white for white meat, albarino for seafood.
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In broad terms, yes. Generally don’t overthink it. Light / heavy red; dry / off dry white. For casual everyday I have “Red blend” and “white blend” in the fridge from various left overs, which I might freshen with a glass of the dinner wine.
A few dishes get a bit more specific, eg veal Marengo I use Viognier (with oregano and some orange peel, it sings). Boeuf Bourgignon I tend to “stiffen” the wine a bit (Syrah or new world Pinot), much like “brewers burgundy”.
Hadn’t thought of that! Great idea.
I’m not super picky - Rhône or Bordeaux for braises and reductions and usually Sauvignon Blanc for white sauces or fish fumet, all $15-$20ish. My only quality constraint is I try to buy my cooking wines from the wine shop a block from me as I know they don’t stock poor quality wine.
The massive exception to this is vin jaune. I am absolutely obsessed with the classically delicious sauce that it makes, particularly for chicken or lobster!
So, then there is Rosé, which I never use.
Any suggestions for dishes calling for a serious Rosé, and also for dishes where a run of the mill version might work as a variation. I guess there’s the matter of what Rosé given variety of styles.
+1 on Marsala. And Madeira.
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I made this coq au riesling recipe last week, but had a half bottle of rose open, so used that. (And halved the recipe in general.)
Worked great. Big Basin rose. Both inexpensive and “serious” imo.
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Not generally beyond white/red. There are exceptions. I think a ragu is nicer made with a fuller body wine.
One example of where using the “wrong” wine really mattered was making a Baeckeoeffe, using a slightly aged NZ dry riesling. This had around 13.5% abv, and developed “petrol” characters with cooking. Compounded by Juniper berries in both the marinating and cooking stage, the liquid became really rather bad (think petrol-inflected gin). I ended up draining all the liquid and “recooking” for another hour with a more neutral wine.
We always have some leftover sweet Riesling in the fridge, and it’s great for pear or apple tart or similar kinds of desserts. Madeira is my go-to for pan sauces for steak or pork.
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Same here. The faster I finish the bottle in the fridge the faster I get to open a new one 
I had more than a bottle’s worth of leftover 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo from a tasting a few months ago and used that for a beef stew. It was perfect, because it lent a lot of acid to the dish. I usually add a bit of vinegar or lemon in stews, but the nebbiolo provided the acid plus terrific flavors.
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