Cooking with wine is one of my favorite ways to impart a rich, complex flavor to the food I prepare. Different recipes call for different types of wine, but you can generally have a decent idea of how to choose the wine to cook with by just following a few guidelines.
Here are some things to keep in mind while choosing a wine to cook with.
Know What Type of Wine Your Recipe Needs
You first must know what the wine’s function within a recipe is in order to decide what kind of wine to buy. Many recipes don’t specify a specific grape, so you should use information like “dry” or “low-alcohol” to do research and make an informed decision.
The More Wine Used, the More You Should Spend
The more central a wine’s flavor is going to be to a dish, the more you should spend on the wine you are going to use to cook with. If it requires just a splash, the flavor won’t be evident, but you’ll want a good wine with solid flavors if making a dish like coq au vin.
Look for Dry Wines (Usually)
Most of the time when making a dish with wine, it’s a savory dish you don’t want to make too sweet. For this reason, a dry wine is usually a good rule of thumb if a recipe doesn’t specify the type of wine needed, unless you are preparing a dessert or something sweet.
