Lock, stock and wine barrel: Wines for cooking
Tokara Chardonnay is perfect with fish and chicken, and is a winner as an aperitif.
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Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa fame always says never use a wine to cook with that you wouldn’t drink.
While it would be considered crazy to use a bottle of Longridge’s Misterie 2015 in your favourite trinchado, there’s sound reason to use good yet inexpensive wine in cooking.
Simple notes like some woodiness or extra acidity in a wine that’s not simply from a box not only serves to elevate the ingredients, but recipes as a whole.
Here’s a few wines for R100 or under to use in cooking:
Delheim Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon (R85)
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The 2017 Delheim Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon is easily available at most wine retailers. The vegan-friendly wine is also a good partner to dishes featuring mushrooms – an ingredient Delheim has also become famous for.
The estate is a prominent educator on edible fungi through its curated foraging excursions into the forest on the farm.
Tokara Chardonnay (R100)
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This aromatic wine with wafts of ripe quince and orange blossom spring from your glass with notes of fresh ginger and toasted almonds. The palate comes alive with fresh clementine, grapefruit and subtle notes of ginger spice.
It’s perfect with fish and chicken, and is a winner as an aperitif.
Checkers Odd Bins (R35- R99)
If a recipe calls for a specific varietal or blend, Checkers Oddbins has a large range of wines for under R100. In fact, their most expensive offering is their MCC, which currently retails for R99-R109.
They are consistently good and great for enjoying on their own or as an ingredient.
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