Tips on Cooking with Wine

By Linda Bramble

The type of wine you use and the cooking method you choose can make the difference between a dish worthy of the ooh’s and ah’s of happy dinner guests, or one that is best poured down the drain.  Pinot Noir and a blend of wines made from Grenache, Mouvedre and Syrah are the best types of red wines for cooking.  

Wines aged in oak and high in tannin such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, create dishes tasting woody and overpowering.  Even the right wine can taste wrong if it’s cooked badly.  If wine is heated too quickly delicate flavour compounds break apart turning fruity flavours muddy and sour.   

High heat and rapid cooking changes them from good to horrid flashes in the pan.  Cook the wine just below a simmer in the presence of some enhancing aromatics such as small amounts of shallot, carrot, mushroom and bay leaf and the dish becomes rich with complex layers of flavour