Wine · Explainer

Which wine do you use for cooking?

Use a dry wine that you would also pour in a glass, because reducing intensifies everything that is in it. According to the USDA table, after fifteen minutes of simmering about 40 percent of the alcohol remains, after an hour 25 percent and after two and a half hours 5 percent. Flambéing leaves 75 percent.

In brief

The key figures

Alcohol after stirring into hot liquid	about 85 percent remains
Alcohol after flambéing	about 75 percent left
Alcohol after 15 minutes of simmering	about 40 percent left
Alcohol after 1 hour of simmering	about 25 percent left
Alcohol after 2.5 hours of simmering	about 5 percent left
Source of these figures	USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6
Rule of thumb	a wine you would also pour into a glass
What cooks down	acid, sugar and salt are concentrated

Which wine can you best use for cooking?

Use a dry wine without noticeable residual sugar that you would drink yourself, because cooking concentrates the flavour instead of hiding it.

What is in the bottle ends up in the pan in concentrated form. Acidity becomes sharper, sugar becomes syrupy and salt becomes saltier. A flat or oxidative wine produces a flat sauce.

There is no protected designation cooking wine in the Netherlands. An ordinary dry bottle does exactly the same job.

How much alcohol stays behind in the dish?

After simmering for a quarter of an hour, according to the USDA table about 40 percent of the added alcohol is still in the dish.

The same table gives about 35 percent after half an hour, 25 percent after an hour, 20 percent after an hour and a half, 10 percent after two hours and 5 percent after two and a half hours. Flambéing leaves about 75 percent and stirring a splash through a hot liquid about 85 percent.

Alcohol therefore disappears slowly and never completely. Bear that in mind if guests who do not consume alcohol are eating with you.

Which wine goes with which dish?

A dry white wine with fresh acidity goes with fish, poultry and risotto; a sturdy dry red wine with stews and game.

The acidity in a white wine cuts through cream and butter and keeps a sauce lively. A red wine with firm structure gives colour and body to a stew that sits on the heat for hours.

Fortified wine such as port, madeira or sherry works well in a reduction, because only a little is needed to add depth.

Can you still use a leftover from yesterday for cooking?

An opened bottle kept sealed in the fridge stays usable for cooking for a few days, even if you would no longer pour it.

Through contact with oxygen the wine becomes flatter and loses fruit. In a sauce that is reduced anyway, that is much less noticeable than in a glass. If the wine smells of vinegar or glue, it no longer belongs in the food.

Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays and keep the cubes in a bag in the freezer, so you always have a portion ready.

What do you use if you want to cook without alcohol?

Replace the wine with stock with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice, so that the acidity in the dish is retained.

Verjus, the juice of unripe grapes, comes closest in acidity. Alcohol-free wine works too, although it is often sweeter, so taste along the way and adjust the amount.

Wij verkopen geen alcohol aan wie jonger is dan 18 jaar. NIX18.

From the shop in Bathmen

Which dry white and red wines are there in Bathmen?

In the shop in Bathmen there are 227 wines from 130 different brands from 14 countries. Prices range from € 2.49 to € 149.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 11% to 15.5%.

Aaldering Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 0.75 15% · 75 cl · South Africa
Aaldering Chardonnay WO Stellenbosch 0.75 14% · 75 cl · South Africa
Aaldering Sauvignon Blanc WO Stellenbosch 0.75 14% · 75 cl · South Africa
Aaldering Shiraz WO Stellenbosch 0.75 14% · 75 cl · South Africa
Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho Contacto Vinho Verde 13% · 75 cl · Portugal
Antinori La Maestrelle rood 13% · 70 cl · Italy
Apostelhoeve Cuvée XII 12.5% · 75 cl · Netherlands
Apostelhoeve Riesling 12.5% · 75 cl · Netherlands
Belpoggio Brunello di Montalcino 14% · 75 cl · Italy
Belpoggio Rosso di Montalcino 13.5% · 75 cl · Italy

Filter all wine

Short answers to related questions

Is there such a thing as special cooking wine?: In the Netherlands, cooking wine is not a protected designation. An ordinary dry bottle does the same job in the pan.
Does all the alcohol evaporate during cooking?: No. Even after two and a half hours of simmering, about 5 percent of the added alcohol remains, according to the USDA table.
Which wine do you use for risotto?: A dry white wine with fresh acidity. Add it as soon as the rice turns translucent and let it reduce before the stock goes in.
Can you still use wine with cork taint for cooking?: No. Cork taint does not disappear through heating and spreads through the entire dish.
How much wine goes into a stew?: For four persons 250 to 375 millilitres is usual, about a third to half of a bottle.

Further

All about wine at 't Bockje filter wine by country, taste and price All brands at a glance What is the difference between champagne, cava and prosecco?What does dry wine mean?What is the difference between Old World and New World wine?What do AOC, DOC and DOCG mean on a wine label?All questions about wine

The reasoning

Sources

USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (accessed 2026-09-07)
Verordening (EU) nr. 1308/2013 tot vaststelling van een gemeenschappelijke ordening van de markten voor landbouwproducten, EUR-Lex, European Parliament and Council (accessed 2026-09-07)
Standards and Technical Documents, Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) (accessed 2026-09-07)
Verordening (EU) nr. 1169/2011 betreffende de verstrekking van voedselinformatie aan consumenten, EUR-Lex, European Parliament and Council (accessed 2026-09-07)

This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine & spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 13 September 2026.

Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.