'cooking' wine

[Marshbrewer]

I don't drink wine, and was wondering if a reasonable alternative to purchased red wine could be brewed from hedgerow ingredients, with a view to it being fairly full bodied, fruity, and with some alcohol, with the sole intention of using it in recipies instead of red wine, for marinades, stews, etc? Has anyone done anything like this? Ideally, it wouldn't be one that needed months and months of laying down.

[fatbloke]

I don't drink wine, and was wondering if a reasonable alternative to purchased red wine could be brewed from hedgerow ingredients, with a view to it being fairly full bodied, fruity, and with some alcohol, with the sole intention of using it in recipies instead of red wine, for marinades, stews, etc? Has anyone done anything like this? Ideally, it wouldn't be one that needed months and months of laying down.

Isn't it the telly chefs who say "if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it" ?

[6470zzy]

Why not just get yourself a one gallon wine kit? They are relatively inexpensive and will fill the bill for cooking as well as being quite drinkable.

[Marshbrewer]

Might be a plan, I've had a look and you can get a 6 bottle kit for about a tenner, so that would fit the bill if you say they are drinkable. Especially, as they look to be ready fairly quickly ( couple of months, I'm thinking, adding the usual 'remember these instructions are overly optemistic' rule that I apply to kits?)

As for the dont cook with if your wouldn't drink it rule, yep, I've read that in cookery books from some of my favorate writers, but all I can say is my awesome Mums cooking often used to include homemade wine as an ingredient that she found undrinkable , for one reason or another, and that was top b'lox. Often that reason wasn't that it tasted like vinegar, but that it was too strong / weak / heavy / light, which are things I reakon you can compensate for in your proportions / method.

[Hanglow]

I made a few of the California Connoisseur kits a couple of years ago and they more than hold up against a drinkable table wine you'd pay £6-£8 for

Just make sure you get all concentrate kits

They tasted young but drinkable after a couple of months, they matured really well for the year or so I had them before some thieving pikey stole them from my garage


Need to make some more now I think about it