Wine in the kitchen

If you wish to enhance the flavour and bring out the aroma of the dishes you prepare, follow these general guidelines.

From the earliest of times wine appeared in the kitchen - practically from the first drop produced. Apart from being a beverage and a food supplement it has even served as a cure and protection from diseases.

There are numerous historical records about the use of wine. It has appeared in Homer's descriptions of recipes from ancient Greece and in later descriptions of Roman feasts that influenced all Mediterranean cuisine. Recipes from medieval France used wine as one of the major cooking ingredients and even an English cook book from 1739 is full of recipes featuring different types of wines.

When selecting wines for cooking let the principle that it has to be "good enough for drinking" lead you.

Wine in America enjoyed equal popularity. They imported sherry, porto, and madeira, and even the American president Thomas Jefferson produced his own wine.

When selecting wines for cooking let the principle that it has to be "good enough for drinking" lead you. There are special "cooking wines" available on the market, but most chefs avoid them as they do not hold the desired features (and they are also salty!) and they could give your food some unwanted characteristics before enhancing the taste. And you do not want this to happen, do you?

Wine, and especially fortified wine, is usually added in the middle or near the end of cooking.

If you are a beginner with this ingredient, start your education with familiar wines that you probably have at home. Explore the principle of mixing flavours and build your knowledge and confidence with further exploration.

Main guidelines

Here are some general guidelines for using wine in cooking:

• White wine and sherry are usually used in chicken and seafood dishes, then with cheese, cream soups and light white sauces.
• Red wine will strengthen the aroma of red meat dishes, venison and full, meat sauces.
• Dry and light sweet wines are recommended with light entrees, and this wine will also well accompany ingredients such as dried meat, fish and seafood.
• Pasta with cheese will be enhanced if you add a little of rosé or light red wine or full bodied reds such as shiraz.
• Dishes with eggs will experience the same with the assistance of white wine or rosé.
• When sautéing vegetables, add a few drops of your favourite white wine and let the flavours blend.
• Wine can also be used in marinades. Alcohol and the acidic nature of wine will soften meat and at the same time add aroma and flavour.
• Wine, and especially fortified wine, is usually added in the middle or near the end of cooking.
• Cooking time for wine also depends on its colour: white wine requires less heating, while red can be cooked until it almost evaporates and the colour becomes dark and almost brown.

White sauvignon, an aromatic wine that can have the scent of grass and herbs, emphasizes the flavour of herbs in food. Red zinfandel (Californian wine of Croatian origin) contains the aroma of berries and sour cherry, and will fit perfectly in your sweet sauces for venison. Young chardonnay with a fruit flavour well matches desserts and older chardonnay will «lift» the taste of cakes (perfect with Christmas cakes!).

When speaking of sweet wines, the so-called fortified wines will help. Sherry, porto and aromatised vermouth have each their rather intensive flavours and vary from dry to sweet.

• Add white sweet wine, sparkling wine or rosé, sweet bermet or aged, red, sweet wine to fruit.
• Cakes without chocolate require liqueur wines, semi-dry sparkling wines and aromatic sweet wines.
• Dry cookies go well with sparkling wines of older vintage, white sweet and semi-sweet wines and dessert wines.
• It is a rule that wine is not served with chocolate and cakes with chocolate and therefore neither is it used for their preparation.