Need help w/red wine for Beef Bourgignon

[pam claughton]

I'm making the Boeuf Bourguignon tonight from my new Les Halles cookbook, and would love any suggestions for a red wine to use in the dish. The recipe just suggests a red burgundy, and while I love red wine, I am not familiar with burgundies. The only red I have in the house right now is a Bonnie Doon Syrah, which I doubt is appropriate, so I'm planning to head out soon and get something else, and really appreciate any ideas people may have.

Thank you!

Pam

[Jason Perlow]

Actually Pam, we used a Bonny Doon Ca' Del Solo Big House Red for that recipe, and it worked great.

A blended red varietal like that wine or an inexpensive Burgundy is fine. The primary red varietal used in the Burgundy region is Pinot Noir with Gamay and a few other minor grapes mixed in, so any Pinot Noir, even a domestic one like a Argyle from the Willemete Valley in Oregon (Most Oregon Pinot Noir are under $15) should be fine for that dish. You don't want anything with a lot of tannins or a lot of oak like a California Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot, Pinot Noir is not particularly tannin heavy and Oregons are not particuarly oaky. Syrah/Shiraz is also tannic so I wouldn't use that wine you have either.

[pam claughton]

Actually Pam, we used a Bonny Doon Ca' Del Solo Big House Red for that recipe, and it worked great.

A blended red varietal like that wine or an inexpensive Burgundy is fine. The primary red varietal used in the Burgundy region is Pinot Noir with Gamay and a few other minor grapes mixed in, so any Pinot Noir, even a domestic one like a Argyle from the Willemete Valley in Orgeon (Most Oregon Pinot Noir are under $15) should be fine for that dish. You don't want anything with a lot of tannins like a California Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot, Pinot Noir is not particularly tannin heavy. Syrah/Shiraz is also tannic so I wouldn't use that wine you have either.

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Jason,

Thank you! This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I do appreciate it. I did end up just using the Syrah...hopefully it will be ok. I'm saving this info, and will shoot for a Pinot next time.

:) Pam

[Jason Perlow]

It'll probably come out fine, Pam. I don't think Randall Graham at Bonny Doon is much of an oak freak. Tannins can be compensated for by adding more water or stock, but oak...

[andiesenji]

This may be anathema to the wine fanciers but I have had excellent results with a very inexpensive red, in fact, it is a jug wine, Gallo's Hearty Burgundy.

Since I can't taste raw alcohol without suffering from an acute allergy, I have to depend on recommendations for such ingredients and, of course, the final result.

When I was planning a meal around a similar main course, I asked a friend, a retired chef who was at the Century Plaza for quite a few years, and he told me to use this when cooking beef, venison and similar red meats as it was "soft" and brought out the flavor in the meat without overpowering it.

I have been using it for several years and have never been disappointed.

I transfer it into a bottle with a textured surface, which is easy to grasp with wet hands, and it also has a pourer cap. Several times my guests have helped themselves to a glass while hanging around in the kitchen while I cook and have tried to guess the source. Most have been somewhat taken aback when I told them the name.

[Jason Perlow]

This may be anathema to the wine fanciers but I have had excellent results with a very inexpensive red, in fact, it is a jug wine, Gallo's Hearty Burgundy

For cooking purposes its probably fine. Does Gallo actually make it in Burgundy? Would be pretty ballsy of them to call it a Burgundy if it's from California. I assume it actually has Pinot Noir in it. If not...

Although its a bit strange to refer to anything Pinot Noir as "Hearty", its one of the lightest red varietals there is. Its one of the few reds you can drink easily with fish.

[andiesenji]

Here is a note about the Gallo wine.

[fifi]

I have to say that I have used Gallo's Hearty Burgundy in my recipes for many years. The results are comparable to dishes that I have had in France.

[Jason Perlow]

So if it used to be like 40 percent Petite Sirah back in the day, what the hell is it made of now?

[andiesenji]

I have to say that I have used Gallo's Hearty Burgundy in my recipes for many years. The results are comparable to dishes that I have had in France.

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Georges told me that many chefs relied on the Gallo jug wines for cooking because they did not vary from year to year, even when made from different grapes the blend was brought to the same taste and consistency as it had been for years, a particular standard that was difficult, if not impossible, to find in vintage varietals.

[Dave the Cook]

Finally, out of the closet: Gallo Hearty Burgundy is my standard red wine for cooking.

[Mottmott]

Finally, out of the closet: Gallo Hearty Burgundy is my standard red wine for cooking.

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Back in the days when I first began cooking with wine, there was a jug wine that came from France in gallon size. Can anyone remember the name of it?

And what's your "standard" white wine for cooking?

[iamthestretch]

So if it used to be like 40 percent Petite Sirah back in the day, what the hell is it made of now?

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Lower down the Post story they cough up that today's Hearty "Burgundy" is a blend of Zinfandel and Carignan. Will anyone admit to nipping on it while you cook? I'd be interested to know what it actually tastes like.

[Mark Sommelier]

So if it used to be like 40 percent Petite Sirah back in the day, what the hell is it made of now?

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Lower down the Post story they cough up that today's Hearty "Burgundy" is a blend of Zinfandel and Carignan. Will anyone admit to nipping on it while you cook? I'd be interested to know what it actually tastes like.

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It sure as hell doesn't taste like Burgundy.

[iamthestretch]

Because I can't leave well enough alone, and because I'm in the middle of a major cooking spree, I bought a magnum of Hearty Burgundy today for the princely sum of $6.99 to use in the construction of 10 or so quarts of Bourdain's boeuf bourguignon. While I was chopping and browning, I drank a glass, strictly in the interests of science, and I finally understand the appropriate usage of the word "denatured." No nose (not no nose as in very little odor, but no nose as in a complete absence of any kind of wine, or even alcohol, scent. Remarkable.), no flavor and no finish. The trifecta. The only lasting sensory impression is of a slight astringency on the upper palate -- disconcerting because it rather leaves the impression the wine has evaporated altogether before touching the back of your tongue. Down the sink with you! The stew, however, tastes just fine, which probably goes to show something profound about the miraculous effects of heat that I'd only be able to grasp if I drank the remaining liter of Hearty Burgundy, which I'm just not going to do -- not for science or even for shits and giggles. So draw your own conclusions.

[little ms foodie]

when I make BB I usually use a Georges DeBoeuf which I can find for anywhere from $7-$11 a bottle.

[Busboy]

So if it used to be like 40 percent Petite Sirah back in the day, what the hell is it made of now?

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Lower down the Post story they cough up that today's Hearty "Burgundy" is a blend of Zinfandel and Carignan. Will anyone admit to nipping on it while you cook? I'd be interested to know what it actually tastes like.

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It sure as hell doesn't taste like Burgundy.

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I once worked with a waiter of great experience, learning and heft who was asked for something in a "California Burgundy."

"Burgundy, sir, is in France," he replied, and strod on to the next task.

[sladeums]

Finally, out of the closet: Gallo Hearty Burgundy is my standard red wine for cooking.

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So why the fuck hasn't somebody told us this before??!!?

I'll have to test this out as well.

Thanks for the tip.