Why it’s used
Wine is often used in a recipe to deglaze, and it also brings both flavour and acidity to a dish. It is commonly used in soups, stews, sauces, mussels and risotto.
How to replace it
- With broth: This is a great choice that’ll provide both liquid and a nice flavour. Oftentimes, when someone uses wine in a recipe, it is because they particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol in the dish. If you could live without it, then this substitute is for you. Use 1 cup of broth for every 1 cup of wine.
If, however, you want that acidity that wine brings, you can also add some vinegar or lemon juice along with the broth. We recommend 2 tbsp of vinegar for every ½ cup of broth. (Be sure to pour the vinegar in first and let it evaporate before adding the broth; this will help to soften the strong vinegary flavour.) We even suggest trying the broth and lemon juice swap in Tuscan chicken!
Chicken
Tuscan-Style Chicken
- With beer: If you want something alcoholic to replace the wine, beer (or cider) is a suitable alternative. It has wine’s acidity, but be sure to select a light beer so that your recipe doesn’t become too bitter. We recommend trying it in a French onion soup or even mussels! Use 1 cup of beer for every 1 cup of wine.
- With fortified wine: If you’re making a pan sauce and don’t have wine, fortified wines like dry vermouth, marsala or sherry are a nice substitute and can also bring structure to a sauce. Use 1 cup of fortified wine for every 1 cup of wine. If you use sherry, note that this will up the sugar content in your recipe.
- With brandy (such as cognac): A little brandy goes a long way. Even if a recipe calls for 1 cup of wine, do not use more than ¼ cup of brandy. There is no need to make up the difference with broth.
Want to ensure you always have some wine on hand for cooking? Whenever you enjoy a bottle of wine and there are still a few drops left at the end of the night, pour them into a communal bottle to keep in the fridge. Keep on adding to it until you have enough to use in a recipe (or within two months).
It also goes without saying, only use wine that’s been untouched in the bottle, and not from people’s used glasses. That is a breeding ground for bacteria!
You can also pour this excess into the cavities of an ice cube tray and keep it in the freezer. You can then pop out a cube or two as needed!