the weird thing is I dont drink...

that being said.... I like to cook, and want to cook beef bourguignon and coq a vin,...

so can someone recommend a decent burgundy that I can get at an HEB? lol.. Cheap is good if possible...

yes, I know if you can drink it, you can cook with it... but I cant drink it. Dont like alcohol... I do like food though... lol

I know the mantra "is if you cook with wine, use good wine", but I just don't see how any cheap pinot wouldn't work for you.

More experienced chefs may know better...

I've always gone with "cook with the cheapest wine you'll drink", but if you don't drink wine, maybe it doesn't matter.

Good rule. I guess the corollary would be "use what you've got".

I watched Anthony Bourdain make it for a tv show once, and he made it with Gallo Hearty Burgundy. I don't know that I'd go that cheap, but I wouldn't spend more than $10/bottle on it.

I agree with finding a $10 Vin de Pays Pinot Noir and calling it good.

I don't know about HEB but Costco has good wine at any price point. I don't really drink it but I cook with it often, Malbec in particular is great with any dish calling for a dry red wine.

Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon Recipe is wonderful

Any sort of nuance in a wine will be obliterated after hours of long cooking. All the volatile compounds that give it complexity and delicate flavor notes are evaporated off pretty quickly I'd bet.

schmendeler said:

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Any sort of nuance in a wine will be obliterated after hours of long cooking. All the volatile compounds that give it complexity and delicate flavor notes are evaporated off pretty quickly I'd bet.

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Unsure... The alcohol certainly. Don't know how volatile other flavor components are.

But yes, nuance would be masked at least. I'm not even certain the grape variety matters all that much other than red/white when it comes to cooking. I know we keep bottles we don't like for cooking and I don't even worry if they're oxidized.

It makes a difference, but it's subtle.

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-choose-red-white-wine-for-cooking

i made coq au vin not long ago and used a decent Burgundy. my two thoughts, I think the flavor of the burg/pinot is different than using a bdx blend so I'd use pinot and then I used old world to try to avoid much RS or overly sweet flavor profile.

Very good article and confirms what I "think" I've learned just playing around. We take bottles we don't like and put them on the back of the stove. I've just never found much difference in using anything.