Local is the New Black

Wine leftovers are almost always found in the home of an ADD wine-drinker. But thanks to the rising trendiness of wine, it is becoming true for everyone.
Wine-lovers are uncorking more fine wines than they can swallow. And the result? On Sunday night, the kitchen counter becomes like a pirate’s plank of soon-to-go-bad wines, either to be dumped down the drain, or worse yet, all drank in a wild binge to not waste good wine.
Luckily, there is a handy trick to avoid both a sink full of vintages and the Monday morning hangover – use fine wine leftovers in new recipes!
Although table wine is already a common ingredient in dinner dishes, people won’t often use higher quality wine instead. Many assume that since cooking with wine reduces alcohol content, it will reduce the wine’s flavour as well. Not so. When cooked properly, fine wine is actually one of the best ways to add complexity to a dish.

Cooking with fine wine and preserving its original flavour requires a certain amount of tact and patience. To retain taste, fine wine should never be cooked at more than 180 degrees Fahrenheit and should always be reduced as slow as possible, to no less than1/4 of its original volume.
It is also wise to cook with younger wines with more power, as these will hold up better under heat. Older wines are fragile and this delicate nature will ensure the early demise of flavour in a pan.

To start making use of your wine leftovers, you will need to revisit the bottle on your counter. When tasting the wines again, pay close attention to any edible notes left on your palette. Imagine how these notes could translate to food ingredients. The recipes you create should contain ingredients that emphasize, echo and support the complex flavour of each wine.

For instance, a Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, known for citrus fruit and herbaceous flavours, would make an ideal stage for lemon and parsley in a steamed mussels dish. A Tuscan Chianti Classico with rustic, earthy flavours makes a harmonious base to simmer mushrooms and Arborio rice in for risotto. A cup of tropical and buttery California Chardonnay would pair beautifully with a passionfruit puree for a beurre blanc over snapper and mango salsa. Since Australian Pinot Noirs often contain notes of black pepper and field berries, this wine when reduced with black cherries would be excellent to deglaze a filet mignon. Lastly, a Niagara Riesling, famous for honeyed fruit flavours, warmed with brown sugar and lots of butter, would be sweet to swim poached pears in for dessert.

Conversations of food and wine often concern what wine to drink with dinner, not what wine to put in it. But by tasting fine wine with ingredients on the brain, that can change in delicious ways. Next time you find yourself wondering what to do with a counter of wine leftovers, get cooking.