What are the best wines to cook with? I don't drink, so the standard answers don't work for me.?

There are so many brand names out there, the best thing to do is ask the liquor dept manager at the store you shop at, and ask for a burgundy to cook with beef, a red wine to cook with spahetti (tho the burgundy will do as well), and a white wine to cook with chicken. You are looking for average wines, nothing fancy, don't bother with "cooking wines" which is just added salt-- and if the LD manager recommends one, tell him/her to take a hike, and go find yourself another liquor dept. with a sensible manager.

You are looking for something in the price range of box wines, Almaden, Franzia, or the cheaper bottles Fetzer, Naked Grape, Gallo, cheaper Mondavi (this is high end for cooking!), D Tour, Black Box and Hardy's.

Do read the labels, for example if it says it goes with beef, that's a good one to get to cook with beef, especially if it is one of the labels I mentioned, or comparable, and cheap. Remember the cheap part. If you pay more than ~$9/liter that is way too much for a cooking wine. This is because cooking will negate any of the finer nuanced flavours that make a wine desirable as a drinkable wine. For a cooking wine, you want something with oomph that will mellow with the stewing or what-have-you.

If you find you want to cook with, say, a $22 bottle of port, pardon me, but do throw yourself in the pot too. Otherwise, Bon Appetit!

I don't use any wine in beef stew or spaghetti sauce, but some friends use some Merlot or Burgundy or Cabernet. For chicken, I use Chablis or Chardonnay depending upon my mood. The Chablis is sweeter, while the Chardonnay is drier.

For beef stew, I use beef broth and water for the liquid. For spaghetti sauce, I use all tomato sauce or a little tomato paste with the sauce if I don't have time for it to cook down.

I like a supermarket red that tastes good, and suggest you ask there, and see if they have small miniatures you can try first instead of buying a large bottle. You should taste test the wine before you use it though, just a mouthful and let it roll around in your mouth.

As you are pretty insistent of a brand, I use Woodhills Smooth Red an Australian wine, and as I said I get it from the supermarket.

If you go to a bottle store, if your grocer doesn't sell wine, you could discuss with him about taste, price and if you tell him what you are going to cook advise you on which wine to use.

A Merlot.

Most cooks say: "if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it."

But seeing as you don't even drink, just get a cheap bottle to cook with. I doubt you would know the difference.

Jeez, did you even bother to read my answer? I KNOW you don't drink, I said it in my answer.

I still want to know what kind of red Chianti Merlot etc etc