Meat and Wine

We tend to consider all meats the same when it comes to matching them with wines, but while there are good reasons for following tradition and partnering red meat with red wine, sweeter, more delicate meats—like pork, lamb, rabbit, and veal—can also match well with full-flavored white wines like Chardonnay.

It’s not necessary to cook a dish with the same wine that you’re going to drink with it, but if you’re drinking an affordable wine, then by all means use the same one to cook with. When you choose a wine to cook with, be sure that it’s a good wine and one that you’d enjoy drinking, but it doesn’t have to be an expensive wine. You certainly don’t want to cook with a great old priceless Cabernet any more than you want to cook with anything from the supermarket labeled “cooking wine.” Thankfully, “cooking wines” have all but disappeared from the shelves. Also, don’t make the mistake of using leftover wine that you may have kept in your refrigerator for weeks. After a few days, wine begins to oxidize and to become a bit vinegary, which isn’t necessarily complementary to the food you’re cooking.