I’m sure some of you are thinking, “‘Leftover wine’ isn’t part of my vocabulary.”
Fair enough. But let’s say it is. As odd as it may seem, leftover wine does happen: you open a bottle for dinner and only half gets drunk, and the next night you go out for dinner, so the other half doesn’t get consumed. Or, you might find yourself with a number of opened but unfinished bottles after a party.
The last thing you want is to – gasp – pour it down the drain, that is, unless it’s sat for so long that it smells and tastes bad. In this case, there is really no other option but to throw it out. If you try to cook with it, you’ll just end up with a sour syrups and bitter braising sauces. But for the opened yet still pleasant bottle, there are options:
- Freeze it. All you need is an ice cube tray. Simply pour leftover wine into the tray, let it freeze, and you have preserved wine to use in future sauces, stews, marinades, etc. Bonus: use these wine cubes to keep your Sangria cold (see recipe below).
- Cook with it. Coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, marinara sauce, poached pears in wine sauce, there are so many possibilities. Any recipes that require boiling the wine or reducing it will bring out the flavors of the wine the best.
- Make vinegar! Yes, you can make your own homemade vinegar out of leftover wine. It takes little more than wine, water and time.
The Restaurant at Ponte’s Original Red Sangria
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle Ponte Sangiovese wine (if you don’t have Sangiovese, another medium-bodied red, such as Tempranillo, will work just fine)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups orange juice
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Assorted tropical and citrus fruits
Pour wine and orange juice in pitcher. Squeeze the wedges from half the sliced orange and lemon so the juice falls into the wine. Toss in the remainder of the fruit and add the sugar. Stir. Chill overnight to allow the flavors to blend. To serve, pour Sangria over ice (or ice made out of wine!) in wine glasses.
–What do you do with leftover wine?
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