Do you have leftover wine taking up space in your cupboard? While it might be an unlikely scenario for some of us, here are a few great ways to use it up just in case it ever happens to you.
Whip up a vinaigrette
Wine makes a delicious addition to a vinaigrette. It’s as simple as shaking or whisking your leftover wine together with a few flavourful ingredients, including extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, fresh pepper and herbs or spices. Here’s a recipe for a light, white wine dressing to drizzle on your fresh greens or vegetables.
White wine salad dressing
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon liquid honey
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to a shaker or a medium mixing bowl.
- Shake vigorously or whisk until all ingredients are combined.
- Use immediately or refrigerate for up to a week. Mix again before using.
Make a marinade
Similar to a vinaigrette, a marinade is just as easy to prepare. Mix together wine, oil, herbs, garlic, onion, seasonings or whatever other flavours you want, then pour it over your meat, and chill it in an airtight container or bag for 3–6 hours. Be sure to flip the container or bag a few times while it’s chilling to allow the marinade to penetrate all the meat’s surfaces. For meats such as lamb or beef, use a leftover red wine, and for chicken or fish, a leftover white wine works well.
Get cooking
Let your inner chef prevail, and use your leftover wine to add a depth of flavour to soups, chilies, stews, sauces, gravies, risotto and even desserts! Red wine is perfect for lending its rich flavour to tomato sauces, meat gravies, beef or lamb stews and duck dishes. White wine adds a lighter essence to mushroom sauces, seafood or chicken dishes, risotto and wine-based pasta sauces. For those with a sweet tooth, fresh fruits, such as pears, poached in red wine are sublime, while leftover rose, white or sparkling wines blended with sugar and fruit and then frozen make a perfect granita dessert.
Create a new drink
Leftover wine might be just the right amount to repurpose into another drink idea. A few ounces of white or red mixed with lemon-lime soda and fruit juices make a refreshing wine cooler, and leftover sparkling wine could be used for a Champagne cocktail.
Save it for later
Pour your leftover wine into an airtight freezer container or an ice cube tray, and freeze it to cook with another time. An ice-cube-size portion is about one ounce, so it’s simple to measure it out for a recipe, but since the alcohol prevents the wine from freezing completely solid, it’s just as easy to break off what you need from a larger frozen piece.
Drink it up
A properly stored and re-corked wine should maintain its flavour for one to three days. This depends on the varietal, but on average, you have up three days to enjoy your wine, so it’s good to the last drop.
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