# What can you do with leftover wine in cooking? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/cooking-with-leftover-wine/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Food · Updated: 2026-10-14 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* Leftover wine is a seasoning. Splash it into a hot pan to lift the browned bits, add a glass to risotto after toasting the rice, braise beans, mushrooms or onions in it, or poach pears and plums in red wine with sugar and spice. Whatever you can't use this week, freeze in ice-cube trays or small tubs for the next sauce. The half-bottle on the counter after a dinner is a small domestic dilemma. Nobody wants to pour it down the sink, nobody wants to drink it on Wednesday when it has gone flat and a bit vinegary. The kitchen is the obvious answer. Wine brings acidity, fruit and depth to a dish, and it does most of its best work in small amounts. ## The one rule Cook with wine you would be willing to drink. Not expensive wine, just sound wine. Cooking concentrates whatever is there, good or bad, so a wine that has turned sharp and vinegary will make the dish sharp and vinegary. If it smells off, it is vinegar now, and that is a different ingredient. ## Deglazing: the quickest use After you have browned onions, mushrooms or anything that leaves a golden crust on the bottom of the pan, pour in a splash of wine while the pan is hot. It sizzles, and as you scrape with a wooden spoon, all those browned bits dissolve into a quick sauce. Let it bubble until it has reduced and lost its raw, boozy smell, then add butter, stock or cream. More on the technique in [what deglazing means](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-is-deglazing/). ## Risotto A classic job for dry white wine. After you have softened the onion and toasted the rice in the fat until it turns translucent at the edges, add a glass of wine and stir until it has almost evaporated, before the first ladle of stock. It adds a gentle acidity that keeps the finished risotto from tasting heavy. Red wine works too, for a deep purple risotto with radicchio or mushrooms. On the stirring question, see [our risotto page](https://zestasy.com/wiki/risotto-stirring/). ## Braises and stews Wine and slow cooking go together. - **Mushrooms** braised in red wine with thyme and garlic, then finished with butter, are excellent on polenta or toast. - **Onions** cooked down slowly with a splash of red wine turn jammy and dark. - **Beans and lentils** simmered with a glass of red, a bay leaf and tomato taste richer and rounder. - **Fennel, leeks or celery** braised in white wine and olive oil until tender and sweet. - **Tomato sauces** for long cooking can take a splash of red early on, simmered off before the tomatoes go in. Add wine early, so it has time to cook down. Wine added at the end of a long braise can taste raw and sour. ## Poached and macerated fruit Red wine and fruit are old friends. - **Poached pears:** peel firm pears, simmer them gently in red wine with sugar, a strip of orange peel, a cinnamon stick and a clove, until tender to the point of a knife. Reduce the liquid to a syrup. - **Plums, figs or cherries** in the same syrup, cooked more briefly. - **Strawberries or peaches** sliced and left to sit in a little sweetened red or white wine for a while: a summer dessert in its simplest form. See [macerating fruit](https://zestasy.com/wiki/macerating-fruit/). Sweet dessert wines, such as Marsala or a passito, are lovely splashed over fruit or used in a quick zabaione-style sauce. ## Which wine for which job - **Dry white** (crisp, unoaked): risotto, white wine sauces, braised fennel or leeks, deglazing for butter sauces. - **Red** (medium-bodied, not too oaky or tannic): mushroom ragù, bean stews, onions, poached pears. - **Rosé:** anywhere you'd use white, with a little more fruit. - **Sparkling:** it loses its bubbles in cooking, so treat it as a dry white. Prosecco works in risotto. - **Fortified wines** (Marsala, sherry, port): small amounts in sauces, gravy or desserts. Heavily oaked or very tannic reds can turn bitter when reduced. Sweet wines in savoury dishes need care. ## Freezing leftover wine The tidiest solution. Pour leftover wine into ice-cube trays or small tubs, freeze, then pop the cubes into a labelled bag. Drop a cube or two straight into a pan when a recipe calls for a splash. It is not for drinking any more, but for cooking it is perfectly good. ## FAQ ### Does all the alcohol cook out? We wouldn't rely on it. If you are cooking for anyone avoiding alcohol, leave the wine out and use stock with a squeeze of lemon or a dash of vinegar instead. ### How long does an opened bottle stay usable for cooking? In our kitchen, a recorked bottle kept in the fridge stays useful for cooking for several days. Taste first: if it smells of vinegar, it has gone. ### Can we use wine that has been open for weeks? If it smells and tastes sour, use it as vinegar rather than wine, in dressings or marinades, or let it go. ### What can we use instead of wine? Stock with a little lemon juice or vinegar, a splash of verjuice, or apple juice in sweeter dishes. ## Related - [What does deglazing a pan mean?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-is-deglazing/) - [Do you really have to stir risotto all the time?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/risotto-stirring/) - [What does macerating fruit mean?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/macerating-fruit/) - [Which sauces freeze well, and which don't?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/sauces-that-freeze/) - [How do you caramelise onions properly?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/caramelising-onions/) - [All Food answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#food)