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Wine? - 4tls - 09-16-2007

Hello,

We occasionally drink wine but very rarely finish an entire bottle during one sitting. How long does wine last once the bottle is open? Can I freezer unused portions for future use in sauces/soups? If so, what is the best way to freeze it?

Thank you,

Tracie


Re: Wine? - DFen911 - 09-16-2007

Wine won't freeze well because of the alcohol content. If it's white wine, cork it and put in the fridge, it'll last about a week. Red wine don't put in the fridge, cork it and it'll last a day or two.

Now what you can do is add the 2 parts red wine to 1 part beef stock (not broth too salty), a sprig of time, 2 peppercorn, 2 tsp shallots and cook it over medium heat till reduced by half if not a bit more.

You have a nice wine reduction sauce. You can freeze this very easily. When ready to use, simply thaw and thicken it with a combination of equal parts butter and flour. So 2 oz butter and 2 oz flour. Cut the butter into the flour and form small balls. Drop these in one at a time to the sauce and cook till you get the consistency you want. You may use all the flour mixture or need more.

Enjoy


Re: Wine? - Old Bay - 09-16-2007

.Marchand De Vin Sauce
6 T butter
1/2 C onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 t garlic, finely chopped
1/2 C scallions, finely chopped
1/2 C boiled ham, finely chopped
1/2 C mushrooms, finely chopped
1/3 C all purpose flour
2 T Worcestershire sauce
2 C beef stock
1/2 C red wine
1 1/2 t thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1/2 C fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butterin a large saucepan or Dutch oven and saute the first four ingredients for 5 min. Add the mushrooms, reduce heat to medium and cook 2 min. Blend in flour & cook, stirring, for 4 min. Add the next 5 ingred. and simmer untilsauce thickens, about 1 Hr.. Before serving, remove bay leaf and add parsley. Season with salt and pepper--very versital, but we love it over poached eggs as Eggs Hussarde. From Executive Chef Michael J. Roussel, Brennans, New Orleans. Freezes well, for months.
P.S. we rarely have any leftover wine.


Re: Wine? - cjs - 09-16-2007

Two things I would add to the good ideas above - red wine can be kept in the fridge for 3 or 4 days, but take it out a couple hours ahead of drinking it to bring it to the correct temp.

Why not look for splits instead of whole bottles of wine - might be a way to go.

...or if all else fails, don't send it to Denise or Bill, send it to me!!

And there are all kinds of sauces and reductions you can use red wine for - if it's not oaked (for reducing). (you can taste the 'oakiness' if it has been aged long in it)

In fact, just pour the remains of a bottle in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce to heat to a good simmer and reduce to about the consistency of maple syrup (it will thicken as it cools). You can then drizzle this over fruit, cheese, steaks, pasta, just about anything.


Re: Wine? - labradors - 09-16-2007

There are also a couple of products to help red wine keep longer after opening. The simplest of these is a special kind of stopper into which you insert a hand pump to evacuate the air from the bottle. Although somewhat effective, it can get to your arm after a while.

When my Dad, who used to have one of those, had rotator-cuff surgery, the stopper/pump approach bothered him even more. That's when I happened to discover an interesting product in a local (at the time) wine shop: a can of compressed nitrogen and other inert gases.

Private Preserve is a product that allows you to do, at home, what winemakers do in their storage casks: use inert gases (i.e. they won't react with the wine) to displace the air (esp. the oxygen) that would otherwise be in contact with the wine. Ever since I first bought some for him as a Christmas gift, he has continue to use it.

This article has an interesting comparison of the two different products.

If you can't find Private Preserve in any of the stores in your area (as my parents couldn't in one place to which they moved), there are a number of websites from which it is available. The source that we found has the best price is Mass Bar Mate, where it is only $7 for a single bottle, versus the usual $10.


Re: Wine? - Old Bay - 09-16-2007

Why Jean I can't believe you're selfish about the wine--Denise & I would love to share any . We'll have to do that sometime.


Re: Wine? - cjs - 09-17-2007

ooops, stepped in it, didn't I??


Re: Wine? - HomeCulinarian - 09-17-2007

We don't have that problem with wine, unless we get a bottle that's just not good. Then it goes down the drain. Bad wine in a recipe ruins the meal.


Re: Wine? - DFen911 - 09-17-2007

Jean's a wine hog!!

Of course I'd share. Derek and I are thinking of taking a road trip next summer up to Oregon area so start worrying now


Re: Wine? - Lorraine - 09-17-2007

" We don't have that problem with wine,"

Neither do we.

Our LCBO has a great variety of half bottles,most of them very affordable.