Which Red Wines Are Best for Cooking?

Whether you are having spaghetti all'ubriaco (otherwise known as Drunken Pasta) or beef tenderloin for dinner or you are topping a dish with a red wine sauce, you're going to need a great bottle of red wine to cook with. For the seasoned chef, using wine while cooking is just one of their many flavor-boosting secrets. Adding a little bit of wine to your dinner—both in the dish and sipping it from a wine glass—takes your meal to the next level. The most intimidating part of cooking with wine is picking the correct wine.

Find out which red wines are best for cooking and how to select a bottle that fits the purpose but isn't necessarily pricey.

Red Wine for Cooking Versus Red Wine for Drinking

First, let's talk about what happens when you cook with wine. Adding wine (typically anywhere from ten to sixteen percent ABV) to a hot pan will cause a few reactions. The alcohol will burn off, leaving your dish with beautiful flavor but none of the booze. This means it's safe for everyone, whether they drink or not (but always double-check with your guests to ensure). The remaining wine left in your dish is a cornucopia of flavors. It intensifies the natural essence of your dish without overpowering it.

Great wine does not necessarily make great cooking wine, especially when it comes to red wine. When cooking with red wines, we recommend you choose a wine with low to moderate tannins and oak influence. Avoid super grippy, high-tannin wines with lots of oak influence as these will cause your dish to develop an undesirable, bitter aftertaste. Not sure which wines are best? Sit back and let us guide you.

When cooking with wine of any type, you're going to burn off most of what can differentiate an expensive bottle from a less expensive one. When selecting a bottle to cook with, your dollar is going to go a lot further than it does with drinking wine. There is a thing as too cheap. Avoid wines labeled as "Cooking Wine" as the poor quality will be reflected in your finished dish.

The Best Red Wines for Cooking

As you stroll down the aisle of your wine shop, narrow down your search to the shelves with merlot, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, Chianti, and red blends. Once there, think economically. Your bottle of red cooking wine should be between $3 and $15 a bottle. There's really no reason to spend more, especially because once you open it, you have about 48 hours to use it or lose it.

Wine will expire due to oxidation during that time. By shopping within this lower price point, you will also ensure that the style of wine doesn't have too much tannin or oak. Big tannins and vanilla-like oak are qualities typically found in more expensive bottles of wine and, although they make great drinking wines, they are not the best wines to cook with.

If you have half a bottle of red wine left over from dinner two nights ago, unless the wine has gone bad, feel free to use that for the recipe instead of pouring it down the drain. Sometimes the secret to a delicious meal is about using what you have, especially if it's a wine that is low in tannin. That's the magic of cooking!