# Need white wine suggestion for cooking **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782 "2005-08-26T19:16:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/1 "2005-08-26T19:16:42Z")
I’m going to make Alton Brown’s [tomato sauce](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_20175,00.html) recipe tonight. It calls for white wine and I have _no_ knowledge of wine. What kind would I want for making sauce? Should it be dry? Someone suggested chardonnay. Is that headed in the right direction? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/2 "2005-08-26T19:26:16Z")
Yes, it should be dry. Chardonnay would work, as would a Sauvignon Blank, Pinot Grigio, or just about any other dry white wine. Head to your liquor store, ask for a bottle of inexpensive dry white wine. They oughta be able to steer you towards something in the $4-$6 dollar range that will do just fine. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/3 "2005-08-26T19:27:44Z")
Yes, it should be dry. Chardonnay would probably be fine, although I tend to use sauvignon blanc. Chardonnay has a more pronounced varietal flavor (especially American chardonnay), but that probably wouldn’t matter here. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/4 "2005-08-26T20:56:41Z")
Remember, it doesn’t need to be an expensive wine. California wines can be found quite cheaply – even Alton himself says he rarely spends over $5 for wine used in cooking. Just don’t use the so-called ‘cooking wine’! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/5 "2005-08-26T23:12:50Z")
Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. But there is no need to go nuts, here either. Get a midrange Sauv. Blanc and you are good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/6 "2005-08-27T04:32:28Z")
I keep two bottle of wine for cooking (fitted with pour spouts) on my counter: A Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc The brand is Vendage…and it runs between $4 and $6 a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/7 "2005-08-27T13:28:12Z")
I am actually a big fan of rieslings for cooking. Less alcohol but more acid which adds more winey flavour to foods IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/8 "2005-08-27T13:40:39Z")
> [@Cherry2000](#): > > I keep two bottle of wine for cooking (fitted with pour spouts) on my counter: > A Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc > > The brand is Vendage…and it runs between $4 and $6 a bottle. How does this work? An open bottle of wine is getting close to unuseable for any purpose after 3 days or so. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/9 "2005-08-27T14:41:28Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > How does this work? An open bottle of wine is getting close to unuseable for any purpose after 3 days or so. Yeah, I’m not sure I’d want to cook with wine that’s more than a few days old. However…and don’t chuckle or gasp at this suggestion…it is possible to freeze wine in ice-cube trays for later use in cooking. Honestly, it’s the best possible way I know of to save leftover wine for cooking use. Trust me on this. It works. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/10 "2005-08-27T16:01:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. But there is no need to go nuts, here either. Get a midrange Sauv. Blanc and you are good to go. Not to argue with you on this point, but I _only_ cook with wine I wouldn’t drink. It’s just a matter of taste, but I like a really strong wine flavor when I cook with it, and I find that good drinking wines are much to subtle to cook with. I get the cheapest, aromatic white I can find when I need to some to cook with. I have a Beringer Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge for cooking. And believe it or not, a “red” (that’s the name) on the counter for recipes with a red wine. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/11 "2005-08-27T16:27:38Z")
I fI put wine in something, it is usually in a reduction, so it gets plenty aromatic. The point is not to use plonk if you expect greatness. All a matter of taste, of course. I much prefer drinking wines to have some backbone and character. Subtlety is not what I treasure in wine. Give a good Zinfandel or Sangiovese and I’m happy. These wines are also marvelous to cook with. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/12 "2005-08-27T17:07:17Z")
Wow, I must be a knuckle-dragging oaf, since the word that popped into mind when I read the thread title was “Sauterne,” but then you guys all posted in with dries. In my defense, especially with what is essentiall a fruit-based (tomato) sauce, I’d want to keep it sweet (but not too much so - so I’d go no further than straw sauterne), and then _drink_ something dry with it to balance that. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-white-wine-suggestion-for-cooking/318782/13 "2005-08-27T21:08:32Z")
Of course, I almost never drink white wines to begin with, so what is in the house gets used in cooking pretty much by default. I agree with Baron Rothschild: “I’ll drink white wine when there is no more red wine on the planet.” 😃