Spec me.. a red wine for cooking

[Greenlizard0]

This will be for cooking only, I don't drink wine. At this point though I can only think of spag bol that will use it be will be looking to use it if anything else takes my fancy.

Budget I'd say no more than £15, I don't want to spend anything silly. Preferably this wine would be available at Tesco or general supermarkets too.

[GoNz0]

cheapest bottle for cooking m8

[emzallan]

Yeah seriously just get a really cheap red, and since you don't drink it perhaps get one of the smaller bottles too. You only really want to enhance the flavour, and especially with spag bol it won't even by one of the major flavours, so no need to push the boat out.

[0iD]

Yup, anything over a fiver a bottle is a waste Choose by flavour by all means, as in a German white is not going to taste like a light Italian one, even when cooked, but don't go overboard.

Even Raymond Blanc verified this in his recent Kitchen Secrets series. Which I admit surprised me

[cptwhite_uk]

A cheap bottle of Merlot should do the trick

[TheAnimus]

Depends on what your cooking what is best, cooking changes the flavor but to say it ruins it is rather disingenuous thou, as such you don't want to use a *bad* wine, just not a brilliant one.

Myself I often go for a Malbec, so cheap Argentinian with a good noise and it doesn't have any of those vinegar overtones.

[Ice Tea]

A friend tried Grape Juice once and it was horrid

[peterb]

I go to the supermarket and look at the bargains/cheapest. Spag bol - I'd use an Italian style wine if I could find it, or a Chilean/New world equivqlent. But I'd certainly be looking at spending under a fiver. (Although the advantage of buying something a bit better than the rock bottom is that you can glug a bit while it is cooking! )

[kushtibari]

I'd go with the advice and go cheap but with one proviso - I'd make sure it tastes ok.

If I wouldn't drink it cos it tastes like paint stripper I'm not sure I'd want to use it in my food.

[Greenlizard0]

Had a look at Tesco's website and went for a £5 Chilean Merlot. That should sort us out. Cheers for your suggestions lads.

[menthel]

Get cheap but make sure it can still be drunk! £5 merlot should be fine though. Not that there should be red wine in spag bol...

[kalniel]

Myself I often go for a Malbec, so cheap Argentinian with a good noise and it doesn't have any of those vinegar overtones.

Depends what you want it for - if I have a bad bottle of wine I'll keep it for cooking and the acidity can be quite useful.

[Zak33]

I'd go with the advice and go cheap but with one proviso - I'd make sure it tastes ok.

If I wouldn't drink it cos it tastes like paint stripper I'm not sure I'd want to use it in my food.

for the win


"This wine should be eaten, it is too good to be drunk."
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

[scaryjim]

Indeed, you shouldn't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink - with the one exception kalniel makes that you can occasionally cook with a wine that's starting to turn acidic if you need a vinegary flavour. But in general, if you won't drink don't cook with it.