If you’re like many of us there’s a good chance you’re aware of the popularity of cooking with wine and what it can do to the flavour of the meals you’re whipping up in the kitchen, but you might not be too aware of the differences between the two types of wine.
Off the top, there is a rather stark difference in flavour between the two, though you can still make use of either cooking wine and drinking wine for a drink, however, you may not want to simply down to the differences in taste.
With that said, let’s take a dive into the differences between drinking wine and cooking wine and why you might want to make sure you’re choosing one over the other the next time you’re playing Masterchef in the kitchen.
Regular Wines Compared to Cooking Wine
Before we dive into the different types of cooking wines, we’ll take a look at the difference between all of these types of wines and their typical wine counterpart.
The first difference you’re going to notice between the two types is the fact that one of these wines is going to taste a lot more flavorful than the other, and thus result in a better drinking experience. This is drinking wine.
Typically, a bottle of drinking wine is going to have a majorly more ‘fine’ feel to it whereas your cooking wines are going to be a little rougher. Pair this with the fact that cooking wines lack a rich flavour and are a more muddy pared-back type of wine and you’re not going to get too much joy out of a cooking wine when compared to a bottle of drinking wine.
To end, your fine wines or drinking wines are what you will drink with a wine-enhanced meal, as these cost a little more, and you can make use of cheaper cooking wines to use as a flavour base.
The Types of Cooking Wines
When it comes to understanding cooking wines, it is important to take note of the flavours you’re going to need and will want to work with, in a particular recipe. There is a range of cooking wines which are going to make a big difference to the flavour of your meals, and these are as follows:
- The Whites
- The Reds
- The Dry Wines
- The Nutty Wines
- The Sweet Wines
- The Rice Wines
- The Fortified Reds
With all of those listed, it’s easy to see that there are a lot to choose from, and so you will need to take a look or a taste, rather, in-person to really determine what you’re going to want to cook with.
To give you a little bit of a pointer though, your dry white and red wines are going to go best with a heavier dish that could be anything from a creamy soup through to a stew or a sauce. For a lighter meal with lighter ingredients such as fish or gravy, for example, you’re going to want to make use of a sweet wine here or a nutty version as they pair best with the reserved flavour of these ingredients.
When we get to the desserts, you’re going to want to head to the fortified reds. These will bring out a tonne of flavour from sweet ingredients and you’re going to be in the green when it comes to whipping up a dessert that is chocolate-based and tastes incredible.
Where You’ll Find Cooking Wines
The good news when it comes to finding a cooking wine is that you can find these in almost all major liquor outlets and even some grocers, and so you’ll be able to scour the shelves to find something that works best for your recipe and invest in a few bottles.
You will also be able to find cooking wines or counterparts that do well in the kitchen from a standard bottle shop, or you can click here for some of the best wines to pair with your favourite recipes.
Conclusion
The good news is that there isn’t too much confusion when it comes to understanding what cooking wine is in that the name tells us a lot of what we need to know. However, you will be glad to now know that the flavour and taste profile coming from these wines is incredibly different from typical drinking wines, and so you don’t want to misplace or swap these in the kitchen.
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