# Which wine for braising oxtails? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [November 21, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253 "2017-11-21T04:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/1 "2017-11-21T04:18:05Z")
I found a braised oxtail recipe calling for ‘dry red wine’. Which wine would be the best for this purpose? ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/2 "2017-11-21T06:09:55Z")
Pretty much anything that is at least drinkable. I don’t spend more than $5-$10 for wine I cook with. For braising, shit, a cabernet, a merlot, a shiraz, a zin, a pinot noir – they’ll all do just fine. Don’t overthink it. If you really want a more specific recommendation, get a Cotes du Rhone. But you’ll really be fine with any of the above. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/3 "2017-11-21T06:11:26Z")
Got a Trader Joe’s? This is what two buck Chuck was meant for. Or box wine, that’s handy too. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/4 "2017-11-21T06:17:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I found a braised oxtail recipe calling for ‘dry red wine’. Which wine would be the best for this purpose? I was doing a similar recipe recently( for lamb )that called for the same and they suggested a [Petit Syrah](http://winefolly.com/review/petite-sirah-wine-guide/), which I what I ended up using. Wasn’t a huge fan of the recipe ultimately, but the wine wasn’t the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/5 "2017-11-21T06:23:51Z")
**pulykamell** said Cotes du Rhone. Listen to **pulykamell**. (Cotes du Rhone is good for this because it is typically a high quality wine @ good cost. Good choices for this use can be found for $8. The wines tend to be juicy and not very tannic. These are good qualities for a recipe where liquids will reduce. But I digress.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/6 "2017-11-21T17:24:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If you really want a more specific recommendation, get a Cotes du Rhone. But you’ll really be fine with any of the above. > [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > **pulykamell** said Cotes du Rhone. > > Listen to **pulykamell**. When I buy wine (I like alcohol, but I never get round to drinking it so I don’t buy it often) I sometimes get Côtes du Rhône for drinking. (The last few years though, we’ve been having 14 Hands Hot To Trot red blend because Mrs. L.A. likes it. I do too.) > [@SmartAleq](#): > > Got a Trader Joe’s? This is what two buck Chuck was meant for. Or box wine, that’s handy too. Sadly, it hasn’t been Two Buck Chuck since I moved from L.A. Up here, it’s _three_ bucks! Actually, I don’t think it’s bad at all for a table wine (something you’d just drink at the dinner table without being snobbish). ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/7 "2017-11-21T17:28:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Sadly, it hasn’t been Two Buck Chuck since I moved from L.A. Up here, it’s _three_ bucks! Actually, I don’t think it’s bad at all for a table wine (something you’d just drink at the dinner table without being snobbish). Same here in Chicago. I don’t ever remember it being $2. By the time I went to Trader Joe’s, c. 2004/2005, it was three bucks here, though sometimes still referred to as “Two Buck Chuck.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/8 "2017-11-21T17:38:50Z")
I’m going to Trader Joe’s at lunchtime today. Maybe I’ll pick up a couple of bottles. I’ve never made oxtails, so I won’t know the difference! 😛 (I’ve used Charles Shaw Merlot – I think, unless it was Cabernet – for glögi, and it was good.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/9 "2017-11-21T17:41:25Z")
The _NYT_ did a “taste off” a few years ago, and found that even experts could not discern the difference between stuff cooked with expensive wine and stuff cooked with the cheap-o stuff. IIRC, the “experts” picked the version cooked with 2-Buck-Chuck as the best. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/10 "2017-11-21T18:46:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Pretty much anything that is at least drinkable. I don’t spend more than $5-$10 for wine I cook with. For braising, shit, a cabernet, a merlot, a shiraz, a zin, a pinot noir – they’ll all do just fine. Don’t overthink it. > > If you really want a more specific recommendation, get a Cotes du Rhone. But you’ll really be fine with any of the above. Another food thread that I didn’t see in time and you beat me to the right answer. Cotes du Rhone is a blend, and rather than a single varietal, I’d suggest a blended red if not going with Cotes du Rhone. Keep it cheap. NY liquor laws means no three-buck Chuck for us. No “drinkable” wines in grocery stores. Just beer. :mad: ---
**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:** [November 21, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/11 "2017-11-21T19:53:01Z")
Braising? That’s what they make Gallo Hearty Burgundy for! No, really. I’ve found that it’s the best cheap wine for cooking. It goes in the stew, it goes in the braise, it goes in the cook. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/12 "2017-11-21T19:56:37Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Another food thread that I didn’t see in time and you beat me to the right answer. > > Cotes du Rhone is a blend, and rather than a single varietal, I’d suggest a blended red if not going with Cotes du Rhone. Keep it cheap. > > NY liquor laws means no three-buck Chuck for us. No “drinkable” wines in grocery stores. Just beer. :mad: Most French reds are blends, and if you buy a CA Cab, that only guarantees it is at least 75% cabernet. A lot of Americans seem to have this idea that single varietal wines are somehow purer and better, but blended is how you achieve balance in a wine. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/13 "2017-11-21T19:58:26Z")
Burgundy or Cabernet Sauvignon. Really any full body red wine will do. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/14 "2017-11-21T20:18:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The _NYT_ did a “taste off” a few years ago, and found that even experts could not discern the difference between stuff cooked with expensive wine and stuff cooked with the cheap-o stuff. IIRC, the “experts” picked the version cooked with 2-Buck-Chuck as the best. Based on this, I bought some Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon for the cooking. I also bought a blend for sipping on (I don’t recall the brand), as I was attracted by the ‘notes of licorice’ description. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/15 "2017-11-21T20:39:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve never made oxtails… Oops. I’m probably too late to give this advice, but oxtail is mightily improved if you do the preliminary braising the day before dinner, refrigerate overnight, and skim off the solidified fat the next day. Oxtail is quite fatty and can be unpleasantly unctuous unless you remove a portion of the cholesterol. Also, any meat stew tastes better if you let it rest a day before adding the rest of the ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/16 "2017-11-21T20:46:02Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Oops. I’m probably too late to give this advice… I’m not making them until New Year’s Day. (Or maybe a few days before, for consumption on NYD.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/17 "2017-11-21T20:56:59Z")
The correct answer is “whatever is at hand”. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/18 "2017-11-22T01:42:31Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Oops. I’m probably too late to give this advice, but oxtail is mightily improved if you do the preliminary braising the day before dinner, refrigerate overnight, and skim off the solidified fat the next day. Oxtail is quite fatty and can be unpleasantly unctuous unless you remove a portion of the cholesterol. Also, any meat stew tastes better if you let it rest a day before adding the rest of the ingredients. All very true, but if you are doing it the day of, then a fat separator works fine. **John Mace** , I wasn’t aware of the CA rules. Thank you. Is that only Cab, or is it all CA wines? I agree, good blends make good wines. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/19 "2017-11-22T02:56:58Z")
It applies to all California wines. [Here](https://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/californias-wine-labeling-laws) is a handy run-down of the regulations. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-wine-for-braising-oxtails/802253/20 "2017-11-22T13:32:31Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > …I agree, good blends make good wines. Didn’t Robert Frost write a poem about that? 😃