red wine in spaghetti sauce

[r_mess]

when a spaghetti sauce calls for 'red wine', does it matter what kind?

[Molly53]

r_mess wrote:
when a spaghetti sauce calls for 'red wine', does it matter what kind?

It's whatever you're comfortable drinking, friend. NOT "cooking" wine.

You can use Chianti, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Pinot Noir or Merlot.

[DrGaellon]

Any wine you can drink, you can cook with. "Cooking wine" is not drinkable - it was invented during Prohibition, and is so loaded with salt as to be intolerable. It should be banned from supermarkets.

That being said, I rarely cook with anything more expensive than $8-10 a bottle - much of the subtlety that makes expensive wine expensive is lost when you cook it. In my house, we generally prefer pinot grigio when a white is needed (chardonnay, while readily available cheap, often is way too oaky for cooking), and cabernet sauvignon when red.

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

I think Beaujolais tends to be somewhat sweet? no?
I wouldn't use it in a pasta sauce.

[DrGaellon]

Chicagoland Chef du Jour wrote:
I think Beaujolais tends to be somewhat sweet? no?
I wouldn't use it in a pasta sauce.

Only the Nouveau. An aged Beaujolais can be rather dry. Of course, I'd still not cook with it, for the reasons cited above...

[Zeldaz]

In addition to those already mentioned, you could use a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz, Syrah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, or Zinfandel, but I personally love a decent Zin too much to cook with it. Any DRY red will do, avoid sweet ones! Ask at your purveyor, they can recommend something inexpensive and decent. If you don't like to drink wine but want to keep some on hand for cooking, freeze it in small amounts! If you try to keep it on the shelf or in the fridge it will oxidize and spoil.

[r_mess]

thank you all....i've never cooked with wine, so i really didn't have a clue. i'll be trying some of these suggestions soon....thanks again......rm

[SarasotaCook]

I always stick with a Cab and Merlot; burgundy (in some dishes is a must); but generally is my 3rd choice overall. Just my faves for a red wine in sauces. Others are a bit too sweet for me.

[Karen From Colorado]

I also prefer a nice dry Merlot for cooking red sauces. I like adding it to marinade for beef too.