Using leftover wine for cooking

[mocro]

I have a decent pinot that's been in the fridge for 10 days - not something I'd drink. But can I use it in a recipe for a shallot sauce - warmed on the stove? Thanks.

[litchick]

When we have any left over, I save the last glugs from our opened red bottles and pour them into a stoppered bottle I keep just for this purpose. It all becomes nice and vinegary, and I use it to finish sauces.

Learned it from Nigella. She salvages the dregs from wine glasses too, though. I don't go *that* far. ;)

[flibbertygibbet]

Ew.

[Kagey]

I haven't seen Nigella do the bottle thing, but her Nigella Bites show had her freezing leftover wine in small portions in freezer bags. Great idea, particularly if you don't drink much.

[mocro]

Thank you to everybody for your very helpful replies. The sauce was delicious so the wine must have had some life left in it. It is a very sad state of affairs that we have leftover wine but I've switched to white (acid reflux) and if we have a couple of dinners out - the red is past its prime. Thanks so much.

[ldkelley]

I've started making red and white wine vinegar from our 'leftovers' - I have to admit I had to buy two bottles to get started with, but now I manage to save a half glass here or there from dinners to feed the mother. It is AWESOME stuff.

[alkapal]

only one question: "who has leftover wine?" };-D

[Jennalynn]

I freeze my leftover wine in 1 cup amounts... just for that reason.

[jfood]

2 half bottles of leftover red wine equals "what to braise on Sunday" time. Jfood has a difficult time opening a full bottle of red for braising but it's "free" when it's leftover. Chicken, short ribs, veggies leftover wine = what a great way to spend a wintery sunday with the family.

[MeffaBabe]

I use all my left over wines to make sauces for my dinners. Heck I have even been known to empty almost an entire bottle or merlot into marinara sauce!

[Gio]

I do that too, MeffaBaba. Especialy if the merlot is from TJ's. However, most of the time I swirl about 2 or 3 inches into the can of tomatoes to make sure I get all the good stuff out. It adds a nice rich flavor to a red sauce of any variety.

[JoanN]

Absolutely! I do it all the time.