Posted by Hans on November 12, 1997 at 13:21:24:
In Reply to: Re: cooking with wine posted by alex brooks on November 08, 1997 at 16:02:04:
: My taste is to avoid grapes like Zinfandel, Muscat, Tokay, Gewurtztraminer or any German wines as they tend to be sweetish, although they are excellant in fruit compotes and with desserts.
Zinfandel is an excellent choice for braised meats and stews. Nothing sweet about it.
As to German wines, I guess Rieslings tend to be sweet since they were traditionally made to be aged 20 or more years. The father would buy for the son. Now they are drunk much too young and sweet and often badly imitated in the US. They are however excellent in red cabbage and sauerkraut dishes and even sauces for fish, as is Gewuerztraminer(try salmon poached in Riesling). From the Alsace, this is usually a quite dry wine, very suitable for cooking. It is however very perfumy and fragrant.
Wine used for cooking needs to have body. If it is aged to the point were it will deteriorate in the glass within a short time, it certainly will not stand up to the rigors of prolonged heat.
General rule: if you won't drink it, it's not improved by cooking with it.
Sincerely,
HWK, CMC