You're watching a cooking show on TV and notice that the bottle of wine to be used has its label turned around. The host/chef says, "Use a wine you would drink," but fails to say what that particular wine is for help visit www.cat-head-biscuit.com. Or you prepare a dish from a published recipe. It calls for a half cup of red wine; and that's it. Maybe it specifies a "dry" red wine. You have little insight as to what to use.



Some Historical Perspective

It was not always so vague. Classic French recipes include such dishes as Chicken Montrachet in which a very specific wine is called for. Too bad that that wine now costs around $300. But if you knew that Montrachet was in fact a Chardonnay, you might find a very suitable substitute within your budget. Boeuf Bourguinnone originated in Burgundy and was always made with Pinot Noir. How would you know that from reading a modern cookbook that only calls for "dry red wine?"

In spite of these historic dishes, cookbook authors have almost always taken the view that expensive, fine wine should be reserved for the table and not cooked down to an essence. Even the iconic French chef Auguste Escoffier, after giving the most detailed cooking instructions prior to Julia Child, calls for "a red or white vin ordinaire" in the preparation of braised meats?including Boeuf Bourguinonne. No help at all.

Such instructions led a generation of North American cooks to the opinion that cooking removes so many qualities a wine may possess that we should use poor quality wines for cooking. One American company added insult to injury by offering a range of "cooking wines" that added salt (insult) to already poor wines (injury). And they were sold in small bottles, assuming that a cook need only use a few tablespoons at a time.

The latest word from TV chefs is to use a wine "that you would drink." Well, that's a little better, but not much. A few chefs with international backgrounds are recommending that we choose a wine from the region that the dish originates from. So perhaps a Nebbiolo in a Piemontese braise of beef, or a Salice Salentino in a southern Italian dish. Such advice is closer to the mark, but still a bit vague.

Some Practical Advice

Down to basics. If a red wine is to be a major ingredient in a sauce, consider these factors:

* Its body or richness. Cabernets, Syrahs, and Zinfandels will add richness to your sauce.

* Its level of sweetness. Italian, French, South African, and Israeli red wines will be leaner and drier than wines from California or Australia.

* Its aromatics. If you cook the wine, it will lose its aromatics along with the alcohol. You will be left with the intrinsic flavor profile of the wine.

White wines are trickier. They often exhibit higher acid profiles that will remain in your dish. Again, like reds, the aromatics and alcohol will be lost in the cooking process, leaving you with the essential flavor of the wine. We suggest you use only full-bodied white wines for cooking. If you cook with a Muscadet or acidic Sauvignon Blanc, you might as well use white wine vinegar and save a buck. Unoaked Chardonnay can make a splendid cooking wine. Pinot Gris, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc are all excellent choices.

While red wines are most often used to add complexity to sauces, particularly braises and marinades, white wines are usually used in much smaller quantities in pan sauces or beurre blanc for help visit www.150-venison-recipes.com. This application calls for a wine with character. And what might that be?

You can spend ten or fifteen dollars on an ideal white wine for your dish, but you can keep a bottle of inexpensive white Vermouth in your pantry as a staple item. Julia Child recommends it and so do we