Best White Wine for Cooking
One of the beautiful aspects of wine is how versatile it can be, and not just for drinking, although that in and of itself is good enough for a lot of people, but wines are also an excellent ingredient for cooking - whether red or white - so, particularly, what is the best white wine for cooking?
Some say that if a wine is good enough to drink, it is good enough to cook with. In a manner of speaking, it is an agreeable expression, and others will really take that to heart; others, on the hand, do not care, they will cook with it regardless. It really is a matter of taste and preference. Ultimately, wine is still an ideal ingredient to add to certain dishes.
1) Sauvignon Blanc
This particular wine is known for having a refreshing flavor that has a good level of acidity to it. Flavors aside, Sauvignon Blanc lends a fantastic aroma when cooking. Because of its herbal bouquets, it can help take your dish to another level.
Not all Sauvignon Blancs are made the same, though. Those grown in a colder climate usually make for more tropical and sweeter flavors, while those grown in a warmer environment tend to have a more grassy and earthy aspect to it. Either of those, however, have a herbal component to it which makes it a great addition to a sauce meant for seafood.
2) Pinot Blanc
With its natural blend of sweetness and undertones of almond and apple, Pinot Blanc is a perfect ingredient for white meat dishes such as chicken. However, it is not limited to meats, because of its sweetness, it is also a great wine to cook for vegetable-based dishes as well as desserts.
Overall, with its ability to provide moisture, it makes for a versatile cooking ingredient.
3) Chardonnay, unoaked
Yes, that is right, unoaked. Chardonnay tends to be aged in either oak barrels or stainless steel vats; barrels lend the wine that woody flavor a lot of people are familiar with, but unoaked Chardonnay has only the full force of its own fruit, and is, therefore, more subtle than oaked, and is smoother.
That coupled with its naturally higher tannins and sugar, make for a great addition to glazes. It also happens to go really well with chicken and mushroom dishes.
4) Pinot Grigio
While Chardonnay tends to be one of the more commonly drank wines, Pinot Grigio has quickly becomes a favorite among cooks. Not only because of its wider accessibility, but because of the balance it has with having low sugar and acidity, while lending fruity hints to dishes.
Pinot Grigio is a safe option to use when cooking, and matches harmoniously with vegetables and light-flavored meats.
5) Riesling
The famous German white wine is a flexible cooking wine. What makes it flexible is its acidity and sugar levels which tend to be higher than those found in Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, therefore make it great ingredients to match with both red meats as well as glazes and some desserts.
Due to its tropical hints, it works well as part of a glaze or with desserts. Because of its higher sugar content, it can help keep white meat such as chicken breast moist yet keep it soft.
Ultimately, these can be considered recommendations since everyone has different preference for taste, so feel free to cook with whatever wine you want.
