One of the privileges of cooking a meal is having some wine while preparing it. That can end up in places that we don’t want to go- and that’s not what we’re talking about here.

Wine is an important tool in kitchens around the world. From farmhouse to four-star, both red and white wines can add depth, subtlety and freshness to dishes while also achieving a ‘marrying’ effect upon the other flavors.

De-glazing a good pan with wine is about the easiest way to make a quick sauce for meat, or bring concentrated flavor into stews and such.

But what about the alcohol in the wine? That cooks off quickly, right?

Well, surprisingly, it turns out that alcohol doesn’t go away as fast as we like to think. It takes around an hour of cooking to reduce the alcohol by 75%.

You may not get drunk from cooking with wine, but if you have zero-to-low tolerance for alcohol it’s best not to use it in the kitchen. 

Use a non alcoholic wine like this instead. It works well.

All over France and Italy, farmhouse cooks and four-star chefs shake their fists in futile denial. We’re with ya, guys.