a rate of almost 150,000 litres per week, and the category shows no


signs of slowing down. Shane Smith owner and publisher


of YesChef Ireland and Scotland, has featured cooking wines and fortified wines in many publications and finds the chefs he deals with understand


the concept: ‘Travelling from kitchen to kitchen I


realise the requirement for a culinary spin on big name wines Chardonnay and Cabernet sauvignon, or Fortified wines such as Sherry and Port. Chefs with budgets that allow the use of drinking wines are few and far between, I have yet to meet one! We use Gourmet Classic products and know of many chefs across Ireland and Scotland who all agree that this is one product that can deliver impressive results at a fraction of the cost, allowing them to meet commercial targets that every head chef must achieve.’


Size Matters There are an abundance of pages


online dedicated to using leftover drinking wine in food recipes, but let’s be honest those who are seriously into cooking, hosting dinner parties and generally entertaining rarely have ‘leftovers’… Most recipes call for just a ‘cup’ of wine, so a 75cl bottle of wine will be far too much for a standard recipe and if a drinking wine has been sat in the fridge for more than 3 days or on the kitchen side for a week, this will not taste good enough to cook with, white wine has the tendency to quickly turn vinegary (oxidize) and red wine loses its flavour. Montebello 187ml cooking wines are the perfect size for cooking and most importantly are VAT free due to low alcohol content and being classified as a ‘food’ product. The biggest impact when using wine in cooking is the sweetness and acidity of the wine, the subtle nuances and characteristics between varieties we notice when drinking wine are lost almost altogether when cooking, so as long as the wine is not too sweet and of neutral acidity, it will be great for almost any recipe. A crisp dry white such as Chardonnay


is always listed as the go-to wine for any recipe using white wine and a rich full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon is highly recommended for recipes using red, these are in fact Gourmet Classics flagship products and their two best- selling trade size lines. Cooking wine contains a tiny amount


of salt, an un-detectable amount and no other seasoning is added, the preservatives used are the same as found in standard drinking wine, Sulphites. There are reports of ‘other additives and seasoning’ being found in cooking wine, it’s simply not true.


Enviable endorsement


Since they have improved the website gourmetclassic.com with a clear easy to use shop function sales of single serve 187ml Montebello Cooking wines have increased significantly,


these products are in demand. At the moment the only mainstream multiple retailer that sells Montebello 187ml cooking wine is Waitrose and sales


have increased year on year. Peter Griffiths MBE (BCF


President) ‘The British Culinary Federation endorses quality products.


An inspiring dish not only needs a good chef but also quality produce. Many of our members use and endorse Gourmet Classic Cooking Wines. Cost effective, versatile, with a depth of added finesse, helping to deliver a professional finish across all styles of cuisine.’ l


Montebello Red, White and fortified wines Port, Madeira, Marsala & Sherry are available from distributor Hider Foods (01482 504333, sales@ hiderfoods.co.uk). Gourmet Classic are the no. 1 supplier of wine for culinary use in the UK and supply the majority of wine used for cooking in the UK via the food service industry - gourmetclassic.com


TIPS FOR COOKING WITH


WHITE WINE (winefolly.com)


• For cream sauces, cook the wine separately and reduce to half of what you started with. Once it’s been cooked down, add the cream.


• After sautéing vegetables, splash a few tablespoons of wine into the pan to deglaze. • For shellfish, add wine to the broth to steam or poach shellfish (mussels, clams, oysters). • You can add a few tablespoons of wine to marinades to help tenderise the meat and caramelise in cooking.


The Delicatessen Magazine 29


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