SC - Cooking Wine

[Anne-Marie Rousseau]

Hi all from Anne-Marie
Stephan says:
> I've heard this opinion expressed before.  Can you offer any helpful
> suggestions for those of us who really like to cook, but are utterly
> ignorant of wine and honestly could not tell the difference between
> "a four dollar generic Burgundy" and a "far superior Bordeaux or
> Beaujolais"?

There are as many kinds of wine as there are vinegars. :) Like vinegar,
each has a very special characteristics and flavor and so each dish often
will have its own wine that best suits it.

For wardens in syrup, we tried a good (not great) port (about $12 a bottle,
not the dirt cheap stuff), and compared it to a decent local merlot (also
about $12 a bottle). The port was rich and sweet and complex. The merlot (a
nice drinkable merlot) was dusty and acerbic tasting. 

For the wine syrup for those little almond filled fried gizmos (cant
remember the name), a nice fruity white was wonderful, and a cabernet was a
totally different taste...still wonderful, just totally different.

As a general rule, at least here, you can get a really nice local wine for
about $10-15 a bottle. The good stuff is at the grocery stores, not the
liquor store (our liquor stores are state run, but you can get wine and
beer at the grocery). Avoid wines in a box, or with a screw cap. If you
need lots, contact a winery and ask for a case discount. Sometimes the
store can line this up for you too.

The adage is right...if its nasty wine, it will do nasty things to your
food, especially after you cook it and intensify the flavors. Why ruin
perfectly good food? Ask the wine seller person...it will be quicly
apparent if they know what they're tqlking about! Also, you can often
contact your local papers "living" section, where they'll have wine
reviews.

Good luck!
- --AM
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