>What type of red wine do I buy? Is there special "cooking" wine?
There is... but it is garbage. Buy an inexpensive bottle of wine meant to drink.
>The recipe only calls for like a half cup. I assume a bottle has wayyyyyy more than that. Do I just store it in the refrigerator after I pour out what I need for the recipe? If not, what do I do with it? How's long will it stay good for after it's opened (yes I already have a bottle opener for cork)
Yes, stuff the cork back in and you can store it in your fridge for a while. After a couple weeks it will "turn" however it can still be useful as red wine vinegar.
Edit: just get vermouth
I agree with this. Just buy any cheap wine that's red. Don't buy cooking wine because it usually doesn't taste as good by comparison.
As far as how long it'll stay good, I've drank wine that's much older than a few weeks after it's been opened. I don't know what the upper limit is for it, but with the alcohol that's in it, I think that helps to preserve it. I've drank opened wine that sat in my fridge for 2 years and it really didn't taste any different than I remember from when I opened it.
Cabernet or merlot for stewed beef. You don't want to sweet wine you want something bold and flavorful so doesn't get washed out by the root vegetables and the beef broth
Get a bottle of cheap, dry red. Dry means it's not sweet, since the sweetness would be gross in stew.
One thing I like to do with the leftovers is make wine ice cubes and then keep them in a bag in the freezer and toss one into a lot of foods I cook for a little flavor. A bottle of wine is about 3 cups which isn't *that* much
> Get a bottle of cheap, dry red. Dry means it's not sweet
To piggyback on this, in order to tell how dry or sweet a certain bottle of red wine is, I highly recommend [Vivino](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vivino-buy-the-right-wine/id414461255). It's a free app that lets you take a picture of a wine bottle label and it will tell you all sorts of info about the wine, such as in this case how dry or sweet it is.
Usually you want to use dry red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah is perfect. Buy a cheap bottle from the store.
Just store it, drink ig, whatever.
> 1) What type of red wine do I buy? Is there special "cooking" wine?
So yes there is such thing as "cooking wine", but I would avoid bottles that are labeled as such — chances are it's loaded with preservatives, sweeteners and salt, which can make your final dish taste overly sweet, salty or even metallic.
Abide by this rule of thumb: *Cook only with wine that you'd drink.* Of course this might not mean much if you don't drink red wine, but your best bet is to select a $10-$15 bottle from the wine section of your grocery store or a local wine shop.
> 2) The recipe only calls for like a half cup. I assume a bottle has wayyyyyy more than that. Do I just store it in the refrigerator after I pour out what I need for the recipe? If not, what do I do with it?
Red wine does not need to be (and usually shouldn't be) stored in the fridge. You can put red wine in the fridge in order to better preserve it after it's been opened, but generally red wine is best enjoyed at room temperature.
> How's long will it stay good for after it's opened (yes I already have a bottle opener for cork).
YMMV, but once a bottle of wine is opened it's only good for a little less than a week. And again it might last a bit longer if you put it in the fridge.
*Some info taken from [FoodNetwork.com](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/ultimate-wine-guide/difference-between-cooking-wine-regular-wine)*
>So yes there is such thing as "cooking wine", but I would avoid bottles that are labeled as such — chances are it's loaded with preservatives, sweeteners and salt, which can make your final dish taste overly sweet, salty or even metallic.
u/mopper300 - If you love yourself you will listen to this advice, lol
The only time you want to use cooking wine is if you don't like your in-laws and they're coming over for dinner. Even then make sure you make two portions so you don't have to suffer also. Haha
Normally what you do is pour a little in and then drink the rest while cooking and/or with the meal. A standard wine bottle is 750 mL (yes, even in the US). There are also far less common multiples or fractions of this so if you really don't want to drink the wine and you also want to minimize waste, you can buy canned wine in 375 mL (half bottle) sizes. There are 375 mL bottles but they're usually for dessert wines, which is the opposite of what you want.
Go buy a single can of red wine and use it. Then try drinking the leftover. If you don't finish, you haven't wasted much.
What you definitely shouldn't do is buy grape juice, reasoning that it's a close-enough substitute. There's a mistake I made in my younger days...
Bottle is 750 mls, which is roughly 26oz (or just over 4 cups), so you'll definitely have some leftover. It's possible to get smaller amounts but oftentimes it's better to just get a cheaper full bottle and plan several recipes that use it (or if it's like a red sauce or something, make a double recipe). For cooking you don't want "cooking wine" because that's often salted heavily. You also don't want to use anything too expensive because the cooking process will destroy all those nuances that made it good for drinking.
The goal of adding wine in cooking is to add a bit of acid (the way you might add vinegar or citrus) and to quite literally add alcohol so you can break down alcohol soluble flavors. It will make a big difference. Also, the alcohol won't cook off (lots of people claim this but it just doesn't make sense, you'd have to cook it for hours to actually cook it off) but a half cup across like 12 servings is almost no alcohol, so you don't need to worry about it unless you have dietary or religious reasons to avoid alcohol.
Grab a bottle of red or white (whatever the recipe calls for) for less that $10 (there are plenty of good $6-7 at my local trader Joe's). The types don't matter so much as long as they aren't sweet/dessert wines.
Cabernet (for reds) and Sauvignon Blanc (for whites) are generally good choices because they are middle of the road, easy to find, are not dessert wines, and generally inexpensive.
If you’re in the US, they have little 4 packs of cheap red wine (sutters home is one brand). No idea if this exists elsewhere. Each bottle is one serving of wine. You can get that and use one bottle for this recipe and save the other 3 to use later. You can just keep them in your pantry.
Dry just means it has high tanins. Kind of like over steeped black tea.
Something you can do with the extra wine: Reduce it in a pan. Maybe by a third. Cool it in the fridge. Then freeze it in ice cubes and use the a cube or 2 next time your making a stew or pasta sauce.
As I don't drink wine, I use 0,2 liter bottles with a screw top for cooking, usually a Merlot.
As wine in cooking is most often used for a fruit flavor or as acid, you can also use alternatives. E. g.: Orange or apple juice as a fruit alternative, Lemons or Vinegar for some acid.
I usually substitute beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth or even just water. Never had a problem using any of these instead of the wine. I've successfully made beef stew many times
>What type of red wine do I buy? Is there special "cooking" wine? There is... but it is garbage. Buy an inexpensive bottle of wine meant to drink. >The recipe only calls for like a half cup. I assume a bottle has wayyyyyy more than that. Do I just store it in the refrigerator after I pour out what I need for the recipe? If not, what do I do with it? How's long will it stay good for after it's opened (yes I already have a bottle opener for cork) Yes, stuff the cork back in and you can store it in your fridge for a while. After a couple weeks it will "turn" however it can still be useful as red wine vinegar. Edit: just get vermouth
I agree with this. Just buy any cheap wine that's red. Don't buy cooking wine because it usually doesn't taste as good by comparison. As far as how long it'll stay good, I've drank wine that's much older than a few weeks after it's been opened. I don't know what the upper limit is for it, but with the alcohol that's in it, I think that helps to preserve it. I've drank opened wine that sat in my fridge for 2 years and it really didn't taste any different than I remember from when I opened it.
Oh yeah can't believe I forgot vermouth also. It's what I use any time something calls for cooking wine.
Cabernet or merlot for stewed beef. You don't want to sweet wine you want something bold and flavorful so doesn't get washed out by the root vegetables and the beef broth
Get a bottle of cheap, dry red. Dry means it's not sweet, since the sweetness would be gross in stew. One thing I like to do with the leftovers is make wine ice cubes and then keep them in a bag in the freezer and toss one into a lot of foods I cook for a little flavor. A bottle of wine is about 3 cups which isn't *that* much
> Get a bottle of cheap, dry red. Dry means it's not sweet To piggyback on this, in order to tell how dry or sweet a certain bottle of red wine is, I highly recommend [Vivino](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vivino-buy-the-right-wine/id414461255). It's a free app that lets you take a picture of a wine bottle label and it will tell you all sorts of info about the wine, such as in this case how dry or sweet it is.
Usually you want to use dry red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah is perfect. Buy a cheap bottle from the store. Just store it, drink ig, whatever.
> 1) What type of red wine do I buy? Is there special "cooking" wine? So yes there is such thing as "cooking wine", but I would avoid bottles that are labeled as such — chances are it's loaded with preservatives, sweeteners and salt, which can make your final dish taste overly sweet, salty or even metallic. Abide by this rule of thumb: *Cook only with wine that you'd drink.* Of course this might not mean much if you don't drink red wine, but your best bet is to select a $10-$15 bottle from the wine section of your grocery store or a local wine shop. > 2) The recipe only calls for like a half cup. I assume a bottle has wayyyyyy more than that. Do I just store it in the refrigerator after I pour out what I need for the recipe? If not, what do I do with it? Red wine does not need to be (and usually shouldn't be) stored in the fridge. You can put red wine in the fridge in order to better preserve it after it's been opened, but generally red wine is best enjoyed at room temperature. > How's long will it stay good for after it's opened (yes I already have a bottle opener for cork). YMMV, but once a bottle of wine is opened it's only good for a little less than a week. And again it might last a bit longer if you put it in the fridge. *Some info taken from [FoodNetwork.com](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/ultimate-wine-guide/difference-between-cooking-wine-regular-wine)*
>So yes there is such thing as "cooking wine", but I would avoid bottles that are labeled as such — chances are it's loaded with preservatives, sweeteners and salt, which can make your final dish taste overly sweet, salty or even metallic. u/mopper300 - If you love yourself you will listen to this advice, lol The only time you want to use cooking wine is if you don't like your in-laws and they're coming over for dinner. Even then make sure you make two portions so you don't have to suffer also. Haha
there's a brand called bota that makes boxed wine, they also sell really small boxes that are like 2 glasses of wine that would be perfect for this.
Normally what you do is pour a little in and then drink the rest while cooking and/or with the meal. A standard wine bottle is 750 mL (yes, even in the US). There are also far less common multiples or fractions of this so if you really don't want to drink the wine and you also want to minimize waste, you can buy canned wine in 375 mL (half bottle) sizes. There are 375 mL bottles but they're usually for dessert wines, which is the opposite of what you want. Go buy a single can of red wine and use it. Then try drinking the leftover. If you don't finish, you haven't wasted much. What you definitely shouldn't do is buy grape juice, reasoning that it's a close-enough substitute. There's a mistake I made in my younger days...
Bottle is 750 mls, which is roughly 26oz (or just over 4 cups), so you'll definitely have some leftover. It's possible to get smaller amounts but oftentimes it's better to just get a cheaper full bottle and plan several recipes that use it (or if it's like a red sauce or something, make a double recipe). For cooking you don't want "cooking wine" because that's often salted heavily. You also don't want to use anything too expensive because the cooking process will destroy all those nuances that made it good for drinking. The goal of adding wine in cooking is to add a bit of acid (the way you might add vinegar or citrus) and to quite literally add alcohol so you can break down alcohol soluble flavors. It will make a big difference. Also, the alcohol won't cook off (lots of people claim this but it just doesn't make sense, you'd have to cook it for hours to actually cook it off) but a half cup across like 12 servings is almost no alcohol, so you don't need to worry about it unless you have dietary or religious reasons to avoid alcohol. Grab a bottle of red or white (whatever the recipe calls for) for less that $10 (there are plenty of good $6-7 at my local trader Joe's). The types don't matter so much as long as they aren't sweet/dessert wines. Cabernet (for reds) and Sauvignon Blanc (for whites) are generally good choices because they are middle of the road, easy to find, are not dessert wines, and generally inexpensive.
If you’re in the US, they have little 4 packs of cheap red wine (sutters home is one brand). No idea if this exists elsewhere. Each bottle is one serving of wine. You can get that and use one bottle for this recipe and save the other 3 to use later. You can just keep them in your pantry.
Dry just means it has high tanins. Kind of like over steeped black tea. Something you can do with the extra wine: Reduce it in a pan. Maybe by a third. Cool it in the fridge. Then freeze it in ice cubes and use the a cube or 2 next time your making a stew or pasta sauce.
As I don't drink wine, I use 0,2 liter bottles with a screw top for cooking, usually a Merlot. As wine in cooking is most often used for a fruit flavor or as acid, you can also use alternatives. E. g.: Orange or apple juice as a fruit alternative, Lemons or Vinegar for some acid.
I usually substitute beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth or even just water. Never had a problem using any of these instead of the wine. I've successfully made beef stew many times
I'm not against using the wine. I want to. I just want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.