I find it very easy to cook with white wine, since I almost always have something drinkable but inexpensive on hand. Unfortunately, all the inexpensive red wines I can find at Safeway seem to end up being the turbo-sugary variety. I bought a Cline Zinfandel that worked pretty well in a Shepherd’s Pie, but it was undrinkable. I tried it once with a somewhat more restrained wine, but although the wine was lovely, the flavor wasn’t as good in the dish.
I often wonder if buying box wine would work for this. I’m always being told that box wine these days isn’t terrible, and it would solve the problem of having to drink 3/4 of a bottle of wine I didn’t really want to buy in the first place.
I bet a lot or most box wines are a tad sweet, too.
I never buy red cooking wine. Maybe cheap Bordeaux? That should have some tannin and acid, no sweetness, and good pigment. Or a cheap Chianti? If you want acid, maybe a cheap barbera?
For cooking whites, I found white Bordeaux or Cotes du Gascogne for $10-$12 that works well.
Like you I find it easier to find white wine to both cook with and drink. Reds are either too good to cook with, or not good enough to drink. My go to for red and cooking is either Wolf Trap (a SA rhone blend that runs around $10), or a $10 or so WA cab – Ch. St Michelle, Hedges, Columbia Crest. They are good but not great. I get a laugh out of recipes that call for a bottle of Burgundy or Barolo for cooking. I guess back in the day that may have made sense, when those were $10 a bottle…
Curious to hear what others say, particularly on the box wine – like you I hear they are now not so bad, but I have not tried any.
The other thing I have heard is that corked wine cooks fine – the heat gets rid of the TCA I am told. I think this has been raised on this board before – and some say yes, and others say they would never put bad wine in with their cooking. I am sure there is a “right” answer about whether corked wine imparts bad flavors or not.
I will also sometimes use a wine that I did not finish, but has now oxidized a bit. I find with braising meats (which is mostly when I cook with red), it does not matter that the wine is no longer drinkable.
I would never cook with corked wine. I would be terrified I would taste the slightest hint of cork in my food. It’s really a disgusting taste/smell, and it’s insidious in how obtrusive it can be even when it’s an extremely “mild” case of TCA taint.
I find that Bordeaux is usually too heavy/oaky for cooking, unless you are simply making a wine-reduction sauce for red meat, in which case it works fine. I typically cook/braise with Chianti, Cotes du Rhone, or a light (low-oak) Pinot Noir. My “go to” wines, which I try to keep on hand specifically for cooking are the Kirkland Signature (Costco brand) Chianti Classico Riserva, Cotes du Rhone, Rioja Reserva, and Willamette or Carneros Pinot. In particular, the Chianti and Rioja are light and fresh, and tasty enough to actually enjoy a glass of while cooking (and are $8.99 and $6.99, respectively). For whites I like Kirkland Chablis, and almost any white Rhone blend (Grenache Blanc or Marsanne/Rousanne blend), as well as any dry Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc.
It depends on the dish. For deglazing or as a minor component of a gravy say I keep a bottle of red and white leftovers. That usually works well.
I’ve heard the same about corked wine but I don’t usually keep it around. It either gets returned or goes down the sink. Oxidised wine can be ok for deglazing etc.
Where the wine is a major feature then I’ll buy something suitable. E.g. Oregon Pinot for Coq au vin. Don’t have any real favourites, it’s often a chance to try something new (within a category).
You mention Shepherds pie, I’d usually use my left overs assuming there’s enough. Or something tasty from S Rhond or S of France if there’s need to top up. Cottage pie, Cab Sauv or Meritage… Argentina Chile or S Africa. Bordeaux in riper year but also more $.
I use corked wine all the time. The heat pretty much seems to kill the TCA. Or maybe not but you can’t detect it.
And if I were buying wine to cook with, I’d probably get an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc or some unoaked white. No reason to use red wine unless you have it around - you’re really looking for the acidity the wine provides and white works everywhere red does, including beef and lamb braises. I actually found some pretty good wine that way - went to pick up a cheap white for cooking some mushrooms and decided to taste it first to make sure it wasn’t too sugary. It wasn’t so I figured I’d try it with a bit of cheese. By the time I was done with the bottle I wasn’t worried about the mushrooms so a couple days later I went back and bought another. Same story. Ended up going through a case, some of it went into food, some didn’t but it all went into me.
I got a belly laugh out of this, and it’s not for lack of personal experience.
White>>red for almost all dishes in my kitchen, and so much more accessible for drinking at lower price points. Often lower alcohol too so we tend to crush more whites during the week and reds on the weekends
The whites I tend to prefer are unoaked or neutral Muscadet, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermintino, Pinot Grigio, etc. For reds, Cotes du Rhone or an unoaked Grenache/Syrah blend from Spain are terrific, especially when braising as the lack of oak and their usual ripeness, make an awesome sauce.
Perrin Cotes du Rhone is my absolute favorite for reds- note that I use it primarily in boeuf bourguignon and other heavier stew-type recipes. I have not tried it for more delicate sauces. Runs $6 a half bottle here, and quite a nice wine for drinking as well.
On whites I usually go with half bottles of Jadot. The Savigny Les Beaune Blanc is usually what is available for under $10 a half bottle, but really anything from them works out quite nicely.
I almost always use leftover wine that I keep in sherry bottles and store in the fridge, adding to it whenever there is something I can’t quite finish drinking (Oxidized burgundies can make for quite nice additions ).
While cooking, I opt to use about 3:1 white:red. I find that it brightens the flavors of the dish and makes for a more complex sauce.
).