Cooking Wine: A Brief History
Cooking with wine has been an essential culinary practice since time immemorial. De Re Coquinaria by the Caelius Apicius (believed to be one of the earliest cookbooks) dates back to the 5th Century AD and includes many wine-based dishes. So for centuries, wine has been a cooking ingredient for many traditional and classic dishes, especially in European kitchens. These dishes range from simple, hearty dishes for peasants to complex mixtures served on the tables of royalty.
In 1833 four Mother Sauces (Velouté, Béchamel, Allemande, and Espagnole), were categorized by French chef Marie-Antoine Carême. A fifth, mother sauce, Sauce Tomate was added to the list by the legendary French Chef Auguste Escoffier in 1903.
A mother sauce is a foundation sauce that when combined with different ingredients creates sauce variations known as Daughter Sauces (identified and named by Escoffier).
These sauces often have the addition of wine. The Daughter Sauces add additional flavors to Mother Sauces. These sauces are the backbone of modern classical and haute-cuisine cooking.
Why Is Wine Used in Cooking and How Does It Enhance Food Aromas and Flavors?
Wine is a liquid type of seasoning that does not alter the flavor of the dish, instead, it draws out the existing flavors and aromas of the ingredients in the base recipe. It is like adding soup stock. Wine is perfect for adding flavor and a subtle sweetness or pleasant acidity depending on the type of wine used.
Simple Rules When Choosing a Wine for A Recipe
It is important to choose wines that complement the ingredients in your dish. The wrong choice of wine can completely alter the flavor of your dish, resulting in catastrophic results. Always follow the guidelines in the recipe for a perfect result every time.
If you are unsure which wine to use, check to see what the dish recommends as a wine pairing. Using wine that is a recommended pairing with the dish will always result in a suitably flavored recipe. A few simple golden rules to follow are:
- Do you want alcohol to remain in your final dish or dessert? The longer you cook the food, the greater the level of alcohol that evaporates from it. Baking with wine only burns off a small amount of alcohol as there is less evaporation during the cooking process.
- Red wines that are low in tannins will result in richer and smoother sauces.
- Dishes that are naturally high in acidity should be prepared with wine that has a lower level of acidity to create a balanced dish.
- Bitter wine works well with salty foods, as the salt softens the harshness of the wine.
What Color or Wine Style Goes Best with Which Ingredients?
- Red Wine usually has higher tannin levels and combines well with the fatty elements that soften them. As a rule, lighter dishes benefit from the addition of light to medium-bodied reds, while richer dishes will benefit from a full-bodied wine. Red wine is the perfect complement for most red meats, rich pasta dishes such as Spaghetti Ragu, and rich stews of beef, lamb, venison, or pork cooked with root vegetables. Red wine creates rich tender meat and a beautiful natural sauce when slowly cooked for several hours. Braised short ribs and lamb shanks are delicious when prepared using this method. If you are feeling adventurous, you can make a cake or poached pears for dessert.
- White Wines add pleasant acidity to dishes and brighten up recipes, creating the same effect as adding a squeeze of lemon juice when serving a dish. White wines are a perfect seasoning for seafood dishes such as steamed mussels, lobster thermidor, Bouillabaisse, creamy pasta, and risottos with clams or other seafood, chicken, pork, and vegetarian dishes such as French onion soup, or Swiss cheese fondue.
- Fortified wines have a higher alcohol level than traditional still wines and they tend to retain their sweetness even after cooking. Fortified wines complement savory dishes especially well – such as pork loin, chicken, beef, duck, chicken liver pâte, or Chorizo and shrimp. Fortified wines are used for flambés and are commonly used in classic dessert recipes such as Lemon Peel Madeira Cake, Tiramisu (or even rum in Tiramisu!), chocolate mousse, or a trifle.
- Sparkling wines are perfect for adding higher acid levels (most of the bubbles evaporate at higher tempretures – see Boyles law of chemistry). They work well in seafood stew, chicken au Champagne, Champagne Deviled eggs, and to sauces such as a Champagne Hollandaise sauce with Eggs Benedict or Rosé Mignonette (replace the wine vinegar with a sparkling rosé wine) with oysters. You can even make a Sparkling Peach Cobbler for an extra special dessert.
- Sweet Wines such honey wines or vermouth are perfect for seasoning lighter dishes such as fish, chicken, creamy pasta, or Asian stir fry. The gentle flavors and light alcohol levels add a soft and subtle sweetness to any dish that is seasoned with them. A classic is risotto prepared with vermouth – although at least one of our esteemed customers have reported our Brut Bee d’Vine as an even better substitute to vermouth.
Does and Don’ts When Cooking with Wine
Do:
- Use wine that complements the textures and flavors of the food that you are preparing. If a certain wine is recommended as a good pairing for the ingredients of the recipe that you are making, then it will be perfect for seasoning for your dish. A sure culinary win!
- Always cook with the wines that you would enjoy drinking. If the wine tastes good on your palate then it will be great in your dish.
- You can also enjoy a glass of the same wine with the dish to create a beautiful and harmonious food and wine pairing.
- Enjoying a glass of wine when you are preparing the dish can also enhance the culinary experience, but we didn’t have to tell you that!
Do not:
- Use low-quality wines, if the wine is horrible to drink, it will taste just as bad in your food.
- Substitute red wine for white wine or other wine, as the wrong type of wine can alter the recipe’s aromas and flavors leading to a less-than-desirable result.
- Use wines full of preservatives such as salts, sugars, or other chemicals which are added to extend the shelf life of the wine.
What Is the Chemistry Behind Cooking with Wine?
For the chemistry geeks out there, let us explore the chemical reaction that results between wine and culinary ingredients. The alcohol in the wine binds to fat and water molecules. Different ingredients in the dish are either fat or water-soluble, therefore they dissolve best in either water or fat.
Wine dissolves in both substances. This makes it perfect for marinades because the alcohol completely dissolves the smell and taste compounds much better than water-based sauces. Wine also breaks down meat proteins (known as denaturing) which results in meat that has been naturally tenderized and is bursting with flavor.
Does All of The Alcohol Evaporate When It Is Used in Cooking?
There is a popular misconception that cooking evaporates the alcohol in the wine and that the final dish is alcohol-free. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wine usually contains around 7-15% alcohol.
When the wine’s alcohol is mixed with water, the two liquids form an azeotrope. An azeotrope is a mixture of two different chemicals that have the same ratio of components when they are in the liquid phase.
Alcohol evaporates faster than water (the cool sensation you feel when putting rubbing alcohol on your skin is it evaporating). Therefore, the faster vaporization of alcohol means that there will be less and less alcohol in relation to water.
The proportion of wine in a recipe will also affect the final level of alcohol that remains in the final dish. For example, if you add one glass of wine to a recipe for six people, each person has a sixth of a glass of wine in their serving. In the same way, if a recipe requires an entire bottle of wine for the same number of people, then there will be more alcohol in the meal.
As a rule, the longer you cook the food, the lower the amount of residual alcohol will be. For example, 15 minutes of cooking will reduce the alcohol by about 60% – it’s not a linear depletion – so and you’ll need 2.5 – 3 hours (if you are cooking say a slow braised dish with a wine) before all the alcohol vanishes.
Recipes That Absolutly Must Use Wine!
- Coq Au Vin – can be made using either red or white wine depending on what flavor profile that is desired.
- Sauces – typically using the reduction method – sparkling, red, white, and fortified wines.
- Risotto and rich pasta dishes – red, white, sparkling, and fortified wines
- Boeuf Bourguignon – red wine
- Poached pears – red or mulled red wine
A classic reduction sauce uses our semi-sweet Demi Sec Honey Wine added sauteed garlic in butter – it makes a perfect sauce when smothered over grilled salmon poured over from the pan while it’s still sizzling!
Featured Recipe: Grey Tree Mushrooms and Bee d’Vine Brut
I love cooking with wine, sometimes I even put some in the food! No unfortunately that is not an original saying but here is a simple recipe that I did create – you can view the 30 second video of yours truly cooking it and indulge in the end result below!
The best part is the simplicity that mirrors our approach to making honey wine (honey, springwater, and yeast – no fruits, herb etc). Simply sauté grey tree mushrooms with basic – non EVOO – olive oil (olio di sansa), Bee d’Vine Brut and garlic. Then top with fresh cold-pressed olive oil (EVOO), parsley, and squeeze of a lemon. Serve with rye bread & freshly sliced radish to freshen the palate.
Sautéd Grey Tree Mushrooms Made with Bee d’Vine Brut
FAQS About Cooking with Wine
What Is the Best Way to Store Leftover Cooking Wine?
Once you uncork a bottle of wine, it begins to experience a slow death due to contact with oxygen which starts to break down the compounds in the wine. If you are cooking with a bottle of wine and do not plan to finish the bottle with your meal, then there are ways to keep it in good condition for longer. Closing the bottle with a wine stopper such as a Vacu-Vin or a good wine stopper will help to preserve it for a few days and storing it in the fridge also slows down the degradation process. In the worst-case scenario if you are only planning to use the wine for cooking you can store it in a plastic bottle with a screw cap.
Can You Cook with Wine That Has Gone Bad?
There is a saying that corked wine makes a great sauce. However, make sure the wine is not too damaged. The flavors that have transformed the wine will also become part of the flavor of your dish, and no one likes a sauce with a funky aroma!
Of course use your judgment when deciding if the wine is still in a suitable condition to add to the recipe. Never use wine that is too oxidized or tastes vinegary, as it will not contribute any pleasant flavors to the dish.
Are There Non-Alcoholic Cooking Wines?
If you are concerned about ingesting even small amounts of leftover alcohol from cooking with traditional wines, rest assured, that many suitable non-alcoholic wines can replace traditional wines. Choose your non-alcoholic wine the same way you would choose regular wines. Make sure they match the ingredients in the recipe. The wines should be good quality as the end goal is to incorporate the rich flavors of the wine into the dish.
A word of warning, you may have to experiment a bit to arrive at the correct quantities as they are not identical to traditional wines, so keep tasting and adding wine until you find the flavor profile of your dish that you are looking for.
What Is Designated ‘Cooking Wine’?
Most chefs use traditional wine, however, believe it or not, there has been a wine made specifically for cooking purposes only. These are typically used in institutional settings (e.g. schools and large hotels) and generally when cooking for a large number of people.
Cooking wine is not meant for drinking and has added salt and preservatives giving it a longer shelf life. Also, unlike traditional wines, an opened bottle of wine can last for a year. If you want to buy cooking wine it can usually be found at the local supermarket
The downside of cooking wine is that it will never reach the same rich flavor profile as traditional wines. Sadly, cooking wine is not designed to enhance your recipes so the best advice is to skip it – if you can, use traditional wine.
So What’s Cooking Honey?
Cooking with wine can be a delicious flavor-filled journey, so let the fun begin! Once you start, you’ll feel comfortable cooking with wine and have a deeper understanding of the different taste profiles it creates.
Create your own recipes with different ingredients, wine combinations, and don’t forget to experiment with the timing of wine addition considering some of the information above. You’ll be surprised at the different variations that result in fantastic dishes, and if you happen to use Bee d’Vine in cooking, kindly let us know what works or tag us @beedvive!
Cheers and a good appetite!
Ayele
Bee d’Vine winemaker