James Peterson

Wines and Spirits for Cooking

Appears in
Glorious French Food
Glorious French Food

By James Peterson

Published 2002

  • About

French recipes have an annoying way of being cavalier about using expensive wines. Some insist that you pour a bottle of Burgundy over an old rooster to make an authentic coq au vin, others call for a wine that’s at least 10 years old; and some have you simmering a bunch of little fish in a good bottle of Champagne. Better to crack open the Champagne and, while sipping, use something else for the fish.

I do admit to having once made a red wine sauce—a beurre rouge, I think—with a bottle of Échézeaux and, yes, I could taste a difference—a very slight difference. But the sauce wasn’t any better than when made with my usual cooking zinfandel.