Cooking With Wine for the Beginner

If you're planning to cook with wine, never use anything labeled "cooking wine". These are extremely bad quality wines with lots of salt added to keep winos from getting a cheap fix. A bad wine won't just boil away, it will ruin a good meal. I use a great little wine cheat sheet to help me shop for wines that will make my food sing. Here are a few wine selection tips for cooking.

Port

Wines such as Port, Marsala or Madiera are called "fortified wines" because they all have brandy added to them. As a result, they are usually thick and sweet and best suited for rich sauces. Each of these varieties has a distinct flavor, however, and shouldn't just be swapped or substituted indiscriminately. As always, let your taste be your guide.

Red Wine

Red wines are often used in sauces to add flavor and color to a dish. If a recipe calls for a particular type of wine, it's best to follow that suggestion. Otherwise just use a red you like. When a "light bodied" wine is recommended, either a Pinot Noir or Merlot will work well. For "full bodied" wines, a Cabernet or Chianti is best.

White Wine

White wines add the least flavor to a dish, so you have more leeway in your choices. Often they're used in cream sauces to add a hint of flavor. For a light bodied white, try a Pinot Grigiot. A Chardonnay, particularly a California variety, is a good full bodied choice. When in doubt, just choose one you like.

One of my favorite ebooks on wine has helped me find high quality wines for cooking for less than $10 a bottle. That's important to me since I don't want to feel like I'm boiling away my paycheck every time I cook a nice meal.