What wine for cooking?

Here's a kitchen truth that will change your cooking: the wine you cook with matters just as much as the wine you drink. When wine heats up, the alcohol evaporates but the flavours concentrate. So if you cook with bad wine, you're concentrating bad flavours into your food.

The rule is simple: never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink. You don't need to use expensive wine — a solid 5-10 EUR bottle is perfect. But those cheap "cooking wines" from the supermarket that are loaded with salt? They'll ruin your dish.

For white wine cooking (mussels, risotto, cream sauces, fish): use a dry, unoaked white. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Muscadet are all great choices. You want acidity and clean fruit flavours. Avoid very aromatic whites (Gewurztraminer, Muscat) — their strong flavours can take over.

For red wine cooking (beef stew, coq au vin, braised meats): use a medium-bodied red with moderate tannins. Pinot Noir, Cotes-du-Rhone, or Merlot are ideal. Avoid very tannic wines — the tannins can concentrate into bitterness during long cooking.

Pro tip: match your cooking wine to your drinking wine. If you're making coq au vin with Pinot Noir, serve a Pinot Noir at the table. This creates a seamless flavour connection between the plate and the glass.

Another pro tip: keep an open bottle of white and red in the fridge for spontaneous cooking. Wine stays good enough for cooking for about 3-5 days after opening, even if you wouldn't want to drink it straight.