Cheap doesn't cut it when it comes to cooking wine

Stay away from salty 'cooking' wines; if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it

Whether it's in a long braise or a sauce quickly reduced over high heat, cooking with wine can impart subtle flavor, acidity or sweetness and depth to a dish.

But be advised and step away from so-called "cooking" wines that might seem like a no-brainer when experimenting with wine in your dish. Cooking wines, which are usually found next to bottles of vinegar, often have additives like salt that make them undrinkable and add a saline quality to your food.

It might also feel natural to reach for the half-empty bottle that has been sitting on your counter for the past two weeks. Fight these tendencies and remember this rule -- don't cook with any wine you wouldn't drink.

The same goes for really inexpensive wine. Repeat the mantra -- if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it, because the flavors and acidity of the wine remain and often become concentrated. Concentrating poor flavors does no favor to a dish.

However, it doesn't mean you should pop open that Chateau Lafite you've been saving. Serve the Lafite with dinner and instead cook with a middle-of-the road, quality wine. This works well if, like me, you tend to drink a glass while you're cooking. Cooks need to marinate, too.

White or red?
Cooking with wine gives you room to experiment with subtle flavors. When choosing a wine with which to cook, think about the characteristics of the wine. Those flavors are the ones imparted on the dish.

The citrusy or grassy qualities of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc add brightness to a seafood dish. The creamy texture and butteriness of a California Chardonnay balances a cream sauce with its acidity while not working against it.

A traditional rule of thumb suggests using a dry white wine, like a Pinot Blanc or a dry Riesling, in seafood dishes and with light meats, including chicken and pork.

Use young, flavorful red wines in heavier red meat dishes, red sauces and heavier soups.

Select a dry wine unless the recipe specifically calls for a sweet wine, as it may in desserts.

Also, keep in mind it's not advised to use a heavily new-oaked wine because of the bitterness it may impart. Fortified wines, like sherry and marsala, which have added alcohol, are intense in flavor. That same intensity of flavor will be added to your dish.

Ways to use
Wine can be used as a cooking liquid or marinade ingredient to subtly infuse flavors into meat or fish and tenderize it with its acidity. Or it can be used in a stir-fry or reduction to quickly add flavor and dimension as you would with any other seasoning or spice.

Adding a splash to cream sauces brings balance through the acidity of the wine.

And, to clear up any confusion, when you're cooking with wine, much of the alcohol evaporates, but not all of it. The longer you cook with it, the more alcohol is removed.