(photo courtesy of morguefile.com)

I've worked in some pretty fine restaurants that never used expensive wines for cooking. The pricey stuff was saved for the customers prepared to pay for it. I think that's just the economics of making a go of it in the notoriously tough restaurant biz. Still, I never read a review saying that the beef bourguignon or any other dish was made with an inferior wine. Nor did I ever hear a customer make that complaint about the wine used in a dish I had served.

I've never been able to judge a wine that's been cooked into a dish. I've always used inexpensive wines when cooking for guests; no complaints so far. Now an article in the New York Times indicates that you don't need to use expensive wines for cooking. That's good enough for me! I'll go on cooking with inexpensive wines and save the pricier stuff to enjoy in a glass.

To read the full article in the New York Times click here: It Boils Down to This: Cheap Wine Works Fine