[dropcap1]Q. [/dropcap1]I am far from a wine expert, so can you recommend which wines are good for cooking when called for in a recipe? And, while I'm here, should I concern myself that some of the people coming over are teetotalers? [dropcap1]A. [/dropcap1]No special training is required for you to drink or cook with wine. All you need to know is how to open the bottle, pour the wine into a glass, and raise it to your lips. Never concern yourself that you might buy the wrong wine. All food goes with all wine, with so few exceptions it's not worth worrying about. With very few exceptions (see below), you can cook with any wine. Cook with the wine you have left over from the last bottle you opened. Either that, or keep a bottle of inexpensive ($10) dry white wine (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio. . . most wines are dry wines for cooking purposes) in your refrigerator for cooking. Red wine is used less commonly in cooking, but save any open bottles you might find yourself with--also in the refrigerator. (Cold red wine isn't the best to drink, but it doesn't matter in cooking.) Exception: Under no circumstances should you ever buy what's labeled as "cooking wine." It's a remnant of Prohibition: undrinkable wine with salt added to make it even less appealing. It throws recipes off balance and should never be used. If you have any, throw it away. It's utterly worthless. It will not be on the shelf with the other wines, but with the vinegar and stuff like that, so there's not much chance of confusion. The question about whether you should cook with wine for people who don't drink has a simple answer. Just bring the pan with the wine in it to a good boil and hold it there for a couple of minutes. While you never get all the alcohol out of it, the amount remaining is about what you find in bread (where yeast and carbohydrates also combine to make alcohol). It's unlikely that anyone will feel tipsy as a result of your deglazing a pan with a quarter-cup of Pinot Grigio. That leaves only those with serious health issues and those whose religion prohibits even a little wine for you to worry about.
