Help, I have open wine in the fridge!
Don’t want your bottle to go to waste? Try one of these tips.
Have you ever been in a situation after a dinner where there is an open bottle of wine wasting away on the counter, or open in the fridge? Worry not, there are still useful ways to finish off the bottle without it going to waste. Most solutions fall into one of three categories: cooking, cocktails, and household uses.
How to Use Wine to Cook
It is often thought that you don’t need a high quality of wine to cook with, but we think you should never cook with wine you wouldn’t drink! Not only does it make for an easy pairing for your dinner, but it plays an important role in developing flavor profiles in your dish. And you don’t have to compromise quality even when staying at an affordable price point! Below are a few simple ways to use your “drinking” wine in the kitchen.
Deglazing a Pan
This will work with any dry wine (like Dune Climb our Sauvignon Blanc), and any dish that requires searing! As you’re cooking dinner, the golden build-up at the bottom of the pan after searing meat is filled with tasty goodness. Because the alcohol cooks off, the wine mostly adds acidity to balance the recipe.
To deglaze wine into a sauce, simply:
Sear your meat as your recipe calls for.
Turn down the heat to medium and add a bit of butter (1-2 tbsp should be enough) to the crust of the pan, along with some fresh herbs if you have them.
Finely mince some shallots/onions and cook them low and slow in the butter/herbs until softened.
Add your red/white wine and let the sauce simmer until reduced/thickened to half its volume.
Add more butter as needed, season with salt & pepper to taste!
This concept works equally well with steak & dry red wine as it does with chicken & dry white wine.
Make a Marinade
A quick way to empty a bottle is to dump it all into a marinade! Letting whatever you’re cooking soak up the wine will add density of flavor to any dish (our Crayfish, Lightning Bug, or Treehouse would all work well!).
White meat like fish, chicken, turkey, or even pork can be marinated in white wine, and red meat like beef, pork, lamb, venison, goat can be marinated in red wine for 2-6 hrs in this simple recipe:
Ingredients:
Equal parts olive oil and white/red wine (approx ¼ cup of each, more if needed)
Fresh herbs (rosemary/thyme work well) (approx 2 tbsp if fresh, ¼ tsp if dried/powdered)
Lemon Juice (2 tbsp)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Crushed garlic cloves (3-5)
Directions:
Combine ingredients in whichever container suits (bowl, liquid measuring cup, plastic bag)
Add meat of choice
Refrigerate for 2-6 hrs until ready to cook!
Leftover Wine Cocktail Transformations
Another great way to use leftover wine is to include it in a cocktail. Maybe you have a great bottle that is just a little past its prime, but you still want to drink it. Below are some ideas on how to incorporate your favorites into new combinations!
Mulled wine for winter
You can create a delicious mulled wine with red (Underdog) or white wine (Driftwood), and feel free to add some pommeau (Lee Normi), brandy, port, or orange liquor to punch it up! Mulled wine is foolproof as long as you keep the heat low and slow (no evaporating out the alcohol).
Ingredients:
Whole star anise- approx 2
Whole cardamom pods- approx 2
Whole cloves- approx 4-6
Whole cinnamon sticks- approx 2
Orange slices/citrus slices- approx one whole orange sliced
Sweetener: honey, maple syrup, or white/brown sugar all work, you only need about 3-4 tbsp/bottle of wine
Directions:
To cook, place a pot on the stovetop on medium low.
Add your wine and spices to taste, never heating the wine above a mild simmer.
Summer Sangria Recipe
You can create a refreshing summer drink with white, rose, or red wine (we’d use our Mixtape, Open Road Rose, or Underdog), and feel free to add something sparkling to the mix, like our Tire Swing or C-3 Pinot! Sangria really only needs to be chilled with fresh fruit added to be a hit!
Ingredient Ideas:
For traditional sangria be sure to use citrus: Lemons, limes, oranges
Any other fruit that’s seasonal and yummy
Brandy, orange liquor, pommeau, port— just a bit to punch up the ABV
Sparkling wine or club soda
Simple Syrup to taste
Household Uses for Wine
Still not sure? Don’t pour it down the drain just yet. Opened wine can be surprisingly handy around the house. From transforming into homemade vinegar to keeping fruit flies at bay and even enriching your compost, that leftover splash still has plenty of purpose.
Get rid of Fruit Flies!
Fruit flies love wine, especially a red that’s about to go bad—if you want to catch the pesky creatures, just put a little wine in a bowl combined with a few drops of dish soap to catch them. If you want to make extra sure they don’t escape, cover your container with plastic wrap with a few holes poked in it.
Enrich your Compost
Wine can actually help your compost, but in limited quantities. A certain amount of moisture is essential for successful breakdown, and wine because of its yeast content can act as a natural activator! Just be careful not to overwhelm your compost with alcohol as a rule because too much may harm the bacteria essential to decomposition.
Make Vinegar
If your wine is just a little too far gone (aka has turned vinegar-y) can make vinegar at home in a snap!
Directions:
First, add equal amounts of water to your leftover wine, then combine it in a 3:1 ratio with raw vinegar (3 parts diluted wine to 1 part raw vinegar) in a wide-mouth, open container (large mason jars are perfect).
Cover the opening with a cheesecloth, secure it with a rubber band, and allow the mixture to rest in a dark, warm place for a few weeks. A film, otherwise known as the “mother” vinegar will form on the surface of the mixture. This can be removed and saved to be the base for future batches of wine vinegar.
When the vinegar is done, it will lose its “gluey” smell and taste decently acidic. Then you can decant it into a narrow necked bottle, seal it tightly, and continue to store it in a cool place. The vinegar can be immediately used or stored for longer to develop a higher complexity.
In conclusion, there are a lot of ways to make use of your open bottle that can be either delicious or functional. And remember when in doubt, you can always just drink it!